sump or no sump

D

DocLiette

New member
i have successfully had a 34 gal reef tank for the past 9 months. Everything is doing great. Coral growing, fish healthy. Calcium and other elements great. Nitrates, ammonia, phosphates all at zero.
No sump has been used.
I'm wanting to expand to a 75 gallon.
Is a sump necessary for the bigger tank, or just a convenience? I would prefer to stay without one if possible, just less hassle.
Thoughts?
 
No, a sump is definitely not needed to keep a happy healthy reef tank for years on end. People will say that the extra water volume is a plus, but it's all the same IMO... A 20 gallon DT with a 10 gallon sump is a 30 gallon DT without one. A 30 gallon DT with a 20 gallon sump is a 50 gallon DT without one etc etc...
 
I have kept tanks both with and without one, and would rather have a sump once you get larger than 55 IME.

I like the ease of surface skimming overflows provide and down below having a fuge plus sump. I certainly appreciate the sump as my place to put extra equipment like skimmer, reactor, heater, ATO, and dosing lines.

While not exactly necessary, sumps are great to have when you can. If it's possible, I see no reason to run without one IMO
 
Increasing water volume is a perk of having a sump but it is NOT the same as having a larger DT.
We use DT size generally to discuss compatible inhabitants. Adding a sump does not proportionally increase the number or size of tank inhabitants.
It does allow you to hide ugly equipment like heaters and dosers and gives you lots more options with filtration. I doubt you'd find any of us who upgraded from not having a sump to having one who will ever go back.
Absolutely worth it.
 
I think "convenience" is the operative word here. Aesthetics comes in a close second. Throw both of these out the window and a you might be left with a happy healthy reef tank.
 
A lot of new tanks have an interior portion which hides all the equipment, I think with a dump you have a chance to create a more diverse microcosm, I vote yes for a sump and you can do all sorts of cool things in there like have sea urchins! Some sumps are as beautiful as the display.
 
The best part about a sump is you can hide all the extra equipment including reactors, skimmers, and heaters, so it clears your tank up so the sole focus is the inhabitants. The added water volume also makes it easier to maintain consistent parameters, as shifts won't be as crazy. Plus a sump can allow you to have a refugium which can help with nutrient export, pod development, etc.

Do you have to have a sump? No, but now that I have one, I'll never have a tank without it.
 
I've had a number of tanks over the years without a sump that worked great but that being said, I think it is one of the best things you can do for a setup. My current setup is a 75g display with a sump that holds about 21g at operating volume. After displacement from the rock and a sand, total volume is still right around 75g but the value for me is the convenience of the filter sock, ability to run carbon, placement of the heater (and ancillary equipment), and the ability to have another completely different environment. I keep my sump area DT clean and have some macro algae that I really like to look at down there (along with snails, pods, etc.). Probably the biggest factor for me however is surface skimming; I feel it is exceptionally beneficial.
 
Ugly !

Ugly !

Sapelo said:
Increasing water volume is a perk of having a sump but it is NOT the same as having a larger DT.
We use DT size generally to discuss compatible inhabitants. Adding a sump does not proportionally increase the number or size of tank inhabitants.
It does allow you to hide ugly equipment like heaters and dosers and gives you lots more options with filtration. I doubt you'd find any of us who upgraded from not having a sump to having one who will ever go back.
Absolutely worth it.
Click to expand...


How do you " hide " those ugly power heads ?
 
What color are they? If they are what I think they are, that's kind of hard to hide... This color is definitely not something you see on the reefs. (maybe a sponge)
 
Last edited:
I think its a good idea to go with a sump. HOB equipmemt could fail and cause a mess on your floor.. if you set up a sump correctly if the power goes out or have equipmwnt fail... then the water released can just drain into the sump without making a mess.. plus other advantages stated upbove. If I was doing a 75.. I would upgrade to a sump.
 
MrHyde said:
I think "convenience" is the operative word here. Aesthetics comes in a close second. Throw both of these out the window and a you might be left with a happy healthy reef tank.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And where do you put all your equipment? If they're all HOB, then you increase your chances of water leaking outside the tank IMHO.
 
BigEZ77 said:
Agreed. And where do you put all your equipment? If they're all HOB, then you increase your chances of water leaking outside the tank IMHO.
Click to expand...

Leaking shouldn't be a problem though. I'm pretty sure we/us/them have thought this out. It happens, don't get me wrong, but the odds of this failure are incredibly low IMO.
Let's just hope our hearts keeps on beating. ;)
 
Going from a biocube to an 80G with a sump, I'll never have another tank without a sump.

So much easier to maintain and much easier to get at equipment when needed.
 
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