Sump Suggestions

[BJent]

Hello,

I'm in the midst of building a 29G reef tank. LR, small fish, inverts, corals, the works (within reason of course). I'm not new to the hobby by any means, but I've never had a sump. I don't want over the back filtration and I'm not a fan of the canisters.

My question being is a sump overkill for the 29G? I'm concerned about the sump being too big or too small, overflowing, etc. Like I said, I'm new with sumps, for the most part.

I know I could build my own, but I'm leaning towards just buying one outright so that I can avoid the hassle. Any suggestions on a particular sump, such as brand or size? I'd like to be able to utilize an in-sump protein skimmer if possible, but that might be asking too much?

Any help/suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Allentown]

With a 29g you have the advantage of being able to put in a sump that's larger than your display tank..for almost no cost.

I would kill to have a sump bigger than my display. Many do... Something to consider.

On that front, its impossible to go "too big" (Unless you are putting in a 500g sump for a 29g display or something silly like that).

I 40g breeder that you do yourself would be cheap and make your 29g a sure success.

 

[evan38109]

The bigger you can get, the happier you'll be in a year!

The extra volume can make a significant difference in stability with a small tank. I'd start with a good skimmer and as big of a fuge as you can fit.

 

[oseymour]

I don't think a sump is overkill for a 29 gallon. Increased water volume allows for more stable water chemistry and you can hide your skimmer, reactors and filters there.

I would say first choose your skimmer so you can get a sump with dimensions that are sized for the skimmer. Also decide if you want a refugium. I personally think that most refugiums are too small to make a dent on nitrates but I add live rock and it's a place for pods to reproduce. You can also set a chamber for a large skimmer if you so choose.

Here is my first stab at a sump. Made from a 20 gallon long tank from Petco. I bought the baffles on eBay.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oseymour/20638397254/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oseymour/21250585682/in/dateposted-public/
I made some mistakes. I made the water level too high so there was a lot of splashing and salt creep outside the tank.

Once I settled on equipment and was sure of what I wanted in my sump. I ordered one from Advanced Acrylics and they customized the baffle dimensions for FREE! Here is how my sump now looks. https://www.flickr.com/photos/oseymour/20492069762/in/dateposted-public/. I ordered this one.

My other piece of advice would be to stay away from the Aqueon proflex sumps. The middle chamber is too small for a decent skimmer and you could have issues with microbubbles getting in your main tank if you have the skimmer and return pump in the same section. I also think that too much space is wasted on these sumps for the filter socks and bubble trap.

Here is how my tank looked about a month ago https://www.flickr.com/photos/oseymour/19878198104/in/album-72157656719482258/. See the overflow box to the top off right? I drilled my tank myself with a gl*******s.com kit. It was not hard and everything was supplied except piping and a drill.

 

[platypusklr]

Check out lifereef nano sumps. Jeff is an awesome guy. Dilution is the solution to polution. More water volume is the single best way to maintain stable parameters

 

[platypusklr]

http://www.lifereef.com/nano.html

Here is the link, sorry.

 

[oseymour]

Check out lifereef nano sumps. Jeff is an awesome guy. Dilution is the solution to polution. More water volume is the single best way to maintain stable parameters

I've heard nothing but good things about Lifereef but those sumps costs up to double what I've seen similar sized sumps sell for.

Why such a high price, it's still just acrylic or is there something I'm missing?