Sump Vs. HOB

[Scott523]

There is one thing I dont understand about saltwater.

I dont understand why people use sump when they can just use the simple HOB and have a refugium and store there heater in there too

Please inform me. I have a feeling im going to look really stupid.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

because heaters are too big for a hob fuge. Call me an idiot, but theres no way i'm gonna fit my 200w ebo jagger in my hob fuge. And plus...what about the skimmers? Where are you gonna fit an in sump skimmer (which are generally much better than hob ones, and also you dont have them hanging in the tank) on a hob fuge? (not to meantion that would totally defeat the purpose of having a fuge...it would suck up all the pods)

Plus, sumps give you added water volume, which in nano tanks, can be very important (specially if you wanna do a 10g sps tank for example...too hard to keep the perfect water conditions that sps require with only 10 gallons of water, so a sump is for the most part nessesary in that case...of course theres some people that are just that good and can break the exception on that part tho)

 

[brian is cool]

u need if or bigger tanks so it can hold all ur equiptment in it. it keeps u all organized and pluse than there is nothing in ur tank so it looks a lot cooler. and they r not that had to set up. i can show u mine so u can understand better

 

[Scott523]

ok thanks guys

i was just wondering if there was any weird secret thing that made sumps alot better, but i guess there isnt. its just the obvious

So i guess u dont NEED a sump it would just be alot better

Thanks alot

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya. By no means is a sump absolutely needed, but they sure help thats for sure (more so in the visual part than anything else...well the skimmer too)

 

[manse]

Sumps:

* Increase Water Volume
* Keep the level of water in the main tank at a constant level
* Provide a place to put a lot of ugly gear that you don't want in your main tank
* Provide more options for filtration

Plus, once your tank is drilled for a sump, you can add a fuge, a frag tank, or anything else inline with your tank (and out of sight) pretty easily. I think sumps are a must for larger tanks.

 

[MrMexReefer]

hello everyone.. I was reading up on this post, and I'm thinking of adding a sump. my question is: what if my display tank is glass? I have no idea about how sumps are plumbed... so if anyone has pics or a diagam, ide be very greatful. I'm assuming I would need to have my glass drilled... which is risky.. right?

 

[scoobasteve]

Yeh, i have the same problem. I have an aquapod and i'm thinking about setting up a 40g breeder. I want to get it drilled and set up a 10g sump and a 10g fuge but i have no idea how it would need to be pumbed. I want to avoid problems with pump failure and all of that so i want to set the pumps up right. If anyone could post up a simple sump diagram with return pump placement and all it would be helpful. Also, how do you run a skimmer or other mechanical filtration without filtering out pods and plankton?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

well glass tanks can still be drilled, but the glass cant be tempered (heated to a certain temp, and then i think they quickly cool it down..makes it stronger) because it will shatter the minute you start drilling. But if its not tempered, you can take it to a glass shop to get it drilled..i dont know where to go from there really tho...not the greatest on plumbing.

But if you dont know if its tempered, you'd better not drill, in which case they have hang on overflows. I've got one on my 40 breeder and like it, tho its the wrong size, and i didnt set it up in the most fashionable way (mostly cuz i didnt know what i was doing) but it works great nonetheless.

 

[brian is cool]

i made my sump for my 20g after it was set up fo i used an overflow and i took pics of it to show u how it works.
the overflow box-

this is how the overflow works

my sump has a skimmer a HOB filter heater and a modded AC 70 into a fuge(wat the light is on)

 

[seacowboy]

Brian How does that work?

Did you not drill your tank because in the second picture it looks like that curved tube is taking water from the overflow area and dropping it into that little box.

What makes the water go through that curved pipe? Is it a siphon?

 

[brian is cool]

i did not drill my tank yes that curved pipe siphens water from the overflow box(lack box in pic) to the clear box. than it goes down to the sump and after that is is pushed back up into my tank by a pump

o ya scott u wanted to know about pumps here is a link
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113041
all they do is move water from one place to another-like in sumps it takes water from ur sump and pumps it back up into ur tank.

 

[seacowboy]

Wouldn't a siphon potentially cause huge problems?

For example if the siphon sucked out too much water from the overflow and then started sucking air and stopped wouldn't the sump pump flood the display tank?

if that makes sense?

 

[brian is cool]

well think about it the only way that the overflow can suck up water is if the level is higher than it so it will match the rate that ur pump puts out because it cannot suck up water that isnt there

 

[moonyguy]

I went through this same exercise couple of months ago when I was setting up my 20 gal Nano. I decided to go with a 10 gal sump and I feel I did the right thing. My display tank is much nicer without any powerheards, etc sticking. I am a newbie and I built the sump from scratch with little money. Go with a sump you wont regret it.

 

[MrMexReefer]

Brian, thanks for the pics man! big help! I have an "all-glass" aquarium... does anyone know if they are tempered??

 

[brian is cool]

if it does not say on the tank than it is not tempered, most the time it will have a worming on the tank or it will say like tempered 20 gallon(for example)