Sump really necessary?

[sporazoa]

I always kept my sump really simple in the past, which really housed only the following:

-Heater
-Skimmer
-Auto-top off
-Return pump

And NOTHING else.

I am re-evaluating everything that I have done on reefing in the past & have really wondered if the sump is really necessary?

I could use a regular non-reef-ready tank & put in a small overflow to house the heater & pump to a LifeReef external HOB skimmer? I could also make a sub compartment of the overflow to be leveled with tank water & could put in the auto top off.

What would I really be missing & what loss would I have, I never ran a fuge/macro algae, or had sand in the sump.

 

[shifty51008]

Not nessasary at all, they are good for hideing equipment, extra water volume, and to run a fuge. But deff not needed to have a sucessful tank.

 

[codyreed29]

Not at all. If you plan on having ato or a dosing pump and controller it would be kinda weird lloking to have a doser above a display and so forth..

 

[sporazoa]

Right now I am running a Maxijet 900 & have an external but above tank sump & a bulkhead plumbed into it returning water back down into main tank. This is a temp setup just to run my in-sump skimmer.

I am thinking of building a very small overflow just to house something like a mag 9.5, that would feed the LifeReef HVS2-24 Hang-On skimmer & then return the water back to the tank for circulation. The overflow can house the heater & another section compartment of the overflow box can be drilled directly to the tanks water level(no oerflow), to house the ATO.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

In addition to what you mentioned you can also use your sump to house additional live rock as well as chaeto. This gives you a nutrient export as well as additional bacteria to be able to increase the bioload if you so choose by adding more fish than minimal rock can consume.

But no you don't need it

 

[ca1ore]

'Necessary' ..... well no; but I wouldn't run a permanent tank without one.

 

[joshky]

'Necessary' ..... well no; but I wouldn't run a permanent tank without one.

Well said, I feel the same way.

 

[Dmorty217]

'Necessary' ..... well no; but I wouldn't run a permanent tank without one.

+1 they are extremely beneficial and some fish won't fair very well without one or at least a very large DT... Then again most large tanks have a sump or two in the system. I have a 210g sump and a 220g refugium to put on my 625g DT

 

[greaps]

Not necessary but very helpful. I'f I ever set up a nano again, no sump for me.

 

[joshky]

Not necessary but very helpful. I'f I ever set up a nano again, no sump for me.

Personally I feel that nanos might benefit more from a sump. They will offer more water volume for overall stability, and give you a place to hide equipment in an already lacking DT (size).

 

[greaps]

Personally I feel that nanos might benefit more from a sump. They will offer more water volume for overall stability, and give you a place to hide equipment in an already lacking DT (size).

Your right, I was thinking a sump in the traditional way, if were talking a internal sump like an all in one tank ( nuvo for example) then that is the way to do it.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

While a sump is not needed if you look at most builds there is at least one sump or remote tank plumbed i to the main display. The main reasons and benifits for doing this are1. Added water volume more water is always better 2. A place to install and hide equipment like skimmer, ato, dosing, probes, heaters, reactors, chiller 3. Incororating a fuge to grow macro algae and a safe place for copepods to grow decreases no3 and po4 and increases biodiversity, some tanks even run the fuge as a separate tank from the main sump. Jmo but all marine aquriums should have a sump as standard equipment.

 

[mhucasey]

A sump is not required but it severely hampers your tank if you don't have the ability to set up and stage equipment in one. One thing to keep in mind is a sump doesn't have to conform to the acrylic/glass box design that most people use. It can be any shape you want and constructed of any reef safe material you like.