stenaldermand
New member
Folks, I have a 156 display with mostly SPS that is plumbed through the floor into an unfinished part of my basement. Currently I use a Rubbermaid 100 gallon stock tank as a sump. The return to the display comes off a bulkhead on the bottom of the tank, as does the intake to a 50 gallon frag tank (on the opposite side from the main return intake). Both the main tank and the frag tank simply drain back inbto my sump. I have no real partions in the sump except for a small "wall" of live rock I stacked to confine cheato near where the main tank drain lines drain in. I use a filter sock on the main drain lines which is changed out every few days.
Within the large open sump I have a bubbleking 300 internal skimmer positioned on a milkcrate on the opposite end of the rubbermaid from the drain lines. I also have media reactors full of GFO and charcoal that are fed off the main tank return lines but drain back into the sump. My Kalk drip and Calcium reactor drip also simply drip back into the open sump.
Many of you use these rubbermaids for remote sumps but the systems I've seen utilize several smaller rubbermaids which drain into one another through bulkheads and overflows. Could some of you post pictures of your configurations? I'm concerned that my skimmer is less effective because it's not near the main drain lines from the tank above but rather is on the opposite end of the large Rubbermaid basin. Ditto with my cheato because I have no real way to force flow through it.
Would I be better off with a series of 2-3 smaller rubbermaids where each container acts likes a partition in a more classic sump? My phosphates are a concern in spite of my huge skimmer and water volume. I'm becoming convined that using this single large sump means my not all my water passes through the skimmer or cheato and is negatively impacting my water quality.
Thoughts and examples?
Thanks, Mike
Within the large open sump I have a bubbleking 300 internal skimmer positioned on a milkcrate on the opposite end of the rubbermaid from the drain lines. I also have media reactors full of GFO and charcoal that are fed off the main tank return lines but drain back into the sump. My Kalk drip and Calcium reactor drip also simply drip back into the open sump.
Many of you use these rubbermaids for remote sumps but the systems I've seen utilize several smaller rubbermaids which drain into one another through bulkheads and overflows. Could some of you post pictures of your configurations? I'm concerned that my skimmer is less effective because it's not near the main drain lines from the tank above but rather is on the opposite end of the large Rubbermaid basin. Ditto with my cheato because I have no real way to force flow through it.
Would I be better off with a series of 2-3 smaller rubbermaids where each container acts likes a partition in a more classic sump? My phosphates are a concern in spite of my huge skimmer and water volume. I'm becoming convined that using this single large sump means my not all my water passes through the skimmer or cheato and is negatively impacting my water quality.
Thoughts and examples?
Thanks, Mike
