Thinking of an upgrade?

[Chris918]

So I'm debating on starting to save for a big upgrade into the hobby. I've never had a big tank and I've always wanted to give it a go with a big upgrade compared to the smaller systems I have now. I've always heard that the best tank to go for is the 120 gallon. That being said, I've never set up a sump before. My tanks are all-in-one systems so I've never had to worry about creating my own sump. These luxury all in one systems by Red Sea for example are ridiculously overpriced in my opinion. $3000 or more before I even fill it with water seems kind of insane. That being said, does anyone here have any advice for setting up a tank of this size? Do you have any tips or pointers for me? A 120 gallon would be awesome, but my knowledge is limited in creating sumps and I've heard they are absolutely necessary for a tank that size. Where else would I put the skimmer, refugium, etc. If I can answer any questions that would help please let me know and I look forward to any information anyone can provide.

 

[tjm9331]

well I'm no expert by any means, that said with a larger tank you almost have no choice but to have a sump.

I suppose if you were doing FOWLR or FO then you could get away with a large canister filter and a large hang on skimmer, not sure if they make HO skimmers large enough for a 120 perhaps the Reef Octopus 2000?

If you're going for a reef tank though you'll be glad you went with a sump as canister filters are pretty much nitrate factories if you don't keep up with maintenance and I'm talking cleaning and changing media every other day.

Setting up a sump isn't as bad as I think it sounds to be, I myself haven't set one up but I've read and researched about them enough to believe it's not that difficult and doesn't have to be that expensive. Especially if you get a tank from Petco during their $1 per gallon sale. For a 120 I'd probably get like a 40 gallon breeder tank, that should be a plenty big enough sump for a 120. There are a plethora of folks on this forum that can help design and help you build a sump and make it as painless as possible.

The other thing you want to keep in mind too is that a sump will add precious volume to you tank so if you got a 40 breeder, instead of 120 gallons you'd actually have close to 160 gallons of water volume and the more volume you have the more diluted toxins are and like everyone says the solution to pollution is dilution.

sorry for the long winded post and probably not very helpful but just trying to give you some information.