I stopped by a local independet saltwater store the other day and I saw they are selling sumps. I figure since I have a 125G I'll save myself some trouble by getting one. The question I have is, there were two different brand's of sumps in the store. One was Mega Flow, pricing at $375 and a Pro Clear priced at $200. Well, is this like any other toy, one is a top brand name so it's more expensive than the less known Pro Clear. Or am I going to to get less "sump" if I go with one of the other? Thanks for the help - Mike
The better sump?
- Thread starter mfrisby2
- Start date
Kurt03
Active member
You could build one yourself and get EXACTLY what you want and it costs ALOT less. You can just get a used tank and silicon baffles in place. Not to hard, saves money, and its custom to fit your needs. Heres a link to alot of diffrent sumps.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
Yeah, my next door neighbor is buying an acrilic tank and building his own sump. My tank is not drilled so I am going to have to put the piece over the back of the tank. But, I know the ones at the store have refugium's already built in, is building that going to be some what easy?
Avi
Premium Member
There are tons of DIY sump/refugium threads here in RC, but take a look at this one because it's really basic and it has some photos. It will give you some broad sense of what's involved:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=827617
Of course, you can get far more involved and intricate in the design if you want, but you should have some idea of the essentials, and you'll see that there, before you undertake the project to any degree.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=827617
Of course, you can get far more involved and intricate in the design if you want, but you should have some idea of the essentials, and you'll see that there, before you undertake the project to any degree.
shadowman70
New member
I have a really dumb question I am sure.......My sump that I purchased from the LFS to go under my 95g tank is a 20 gallon.....I have been running bio balls that came with it.....I ahve had numerous people tell me to get rid of the bio balls......some say they are a nitrate problem.......so my question is......are the bio balls a nuisance??? should I get rid of them..??? if so what should I run in their place? I would welcome any advice here....thanks...
Richard
Richard
Avi
Premium Member
The popular wisdom that you'll often see here in RC is that bio-balls are "nitrate factories." Some people say that they run a sump with bio-balls successfully, though. Still, IF you have a reef with coral that are more sensitive to nitrates than fish are, it's a good idea to remove the bio-balls. That's premised on whether or not you have a "sufficiant" amount of live rock in the tank and whether or not you have a good quality, effective protein skimmer as well. If you have the rock and the skimmer, then, IMO, there's no need for the bio-balls and I'd take them out. If you have a fish only tank, then I don't think there's any reason to be concerned about the bio-balls and you can leave them in the sump.
If you decide to take out the bio-balls, you needn't replace them with anything. If you wanted to, but it isn't critical, you could put some live rock in the compartment where the bio-balls had been. A good idea, though, is to put an appropriate light over that section and put some macro-algae like Chaeto in there. This would serve as a "refugium," and foster a pod population and it would serve to consume any excess nitrates and phosphates.
If you decide to take out the bio-balls, you needn't replace them with anything. If you wanted to, but it isn't critical, you could put some live rock in the compartment where the bio-balls had been. A good idea, though, is to put an appropriate light over that section and put some macro-algae like Chaeto in there. This would serve as a "refugium," and foster a pod population and it would serve to consume any excess nitrates and phosphates.
mission man
New member
And if you take out the bio-balls, take them out a few at a time not all at once.
