270g sump recommendations

[Maui The God]

YES!!!!! This is what i needed. i didnt know the conversion or how big the sump would need to be to accommodate back flow. do people still run check valves? ive seen less and less of them

truly thank you for the insight! another question on top of check valves. is it really worth to go the extra step for a roller mat? i dont necessarily mind having filter socks and extras to do replacements. but is it really worth the extra for the roller mat?

 

[Stevorino]

which one do you run?

I'm running the Synergy Reef SK-60 Clarisea

If I had more room I probably would go up to the 72, but this size has certainly been more than adequate. Happy to answer any other questions you have.

 

[Stevorino]

truly thank you for the insight! another question on top of check valves. is it really worth to go the extra step for a roller mat? i dont necessarily mind having filter socks and extras to do replacements. but is it really worth the extra for the roller mat?

I ran socks for a few years before getting the new sump and roller mats.... and I can say the rollermats are a total gamechanger for me.

Other than cleaning glass, I pretty much have my maintenance down to half a day a month now

And in terms of backflow, I just have enough room in the sump to absorb it. I position my return pipes to be pretty close to the water line so that only so much can flow back.

 

[Maui The God]

I'm running the Synergy Reef SK-60 Clarisea

If I had more room I probably would go up to the 72, but this size has certainly been more than adequate. Happy to answer any other questions you have.

do you have any pictures you can drop in? i love the look and cleanliness of them. just something about having the sump look like a "display" also that i like. thats why ive always gravitated towards bashsea. i am curious as to what you run in it for your set up

 

[1ocean]

I got a 300 gallon reef here. After a few years of getting lost down the road of buying things that just wasted my money I went to simple is better after seeing others with huge tanks do the same.
So I ditched my old sump with all the chambers and used my old 140 gallon acrylic tank (72x22x20) for the 300's sump. Made one chamber(chamber 1) the water intake. Chamber one has a rack for water to pass through felt. Then made a huge center chamber by making the last chamber(my return pump area) the wall at 8 inches. so that chamber two water height is 8 inches. Since most skimmers need that height. I have two skimmers in chamber two. Reef Octopus 300INT skimming normal and Reef Octopus 110INT skimming wet..Saw a major change in growth and water clarity...
The wide open second chamber has done away with all the headaches of trying to fit stuff in it.
Chamber two has 100 pounds of Florida live rock, 2 gallons of siporax in plastic crates for easy remove to rinse.
Second chamber has extra room for me to add what ever I want with out worrying about will something fit...
Hope this helps...Also please remember this works for me. Everyone has what works best for them and you need to find what works for you...

 

[C_AWOL]

YES!!!!! This is what i needed. i didnt know the conversion or how big the sump would need to be to accommodate back flow. do people still run check valves? ive seen less and less of them

Check valves are not worth the money and you should never rely on them to stop any form of back flow in any salt water tank. It will always be a matter of when it fails and not if it fails.

truly thank you for the insight! another question on top of check valves. is it really worth to go the extra step for a roller mat? i dont necessarily mind having filter socks and extras to do replacements. but is it really worth the extra for the roller mat?

If you want a lot less maintenance compared to socks, absolutely yes! Of the 3 I've used (bubble magus, clarrisea, reefmat) I recommend reefmat the most due to ease of service + extra features that put it a step above the rest.
You can also easily source aftermarket rolls via precon filters for much less than oem filter rolls.

 

[nickm]

For me, GEO all the way. Room for my 400g display and 2 frag tanks. He is incredible to work with. I drove the man crazy with my ever changing design updates.

Your thedryreef on instagram?

 

[Stevorino]

do you have any pictures you can drop in? i love the look and cleanliness of them. just something about having the sump look like a "display" also that i like. thats why ive always gravitated towards bashsea. i am curious as to what you run in it for your set up

 

[Maui The God]

thank you for this. this is pretty much how i picture my sump in my head. im going to remeasure where the sump is going and make a decision. i really wish i had the ability to do a separate sump room. thank you everyone for your answers and overall information.

 

[Maui The God]

Check valves are not worth the money and you should never rely on them to stop any form of back flow in any salt water tank. It will always be a matter of when it fails and not if it fails.


If you want a lot less maintenance compared to socks, absolutely yes! Of the 3 I've used (bubble magus, clarrisea, reefmat) I recommend reefmat the most due to ease of service + extra features that put it a step above the rest.
You can also easily source aftermarket rolls via precon filters for much less than oem filter rolls.

i just remembered years ago when EVERYBODY was telling you to make sure to have check valves lol.

ahhhh you sold me lol. in my head i thought i wouldnt mind a little extra maintenance but if its a huge difference then a rollermat is the way ill go. ill look into reefmat, ive only looked into clarrisea so far. thank you for the information!

 

[Maui The God]

SO many lights, what to choose? 84"L x 24"W x 31"D tank

Hello all, after a good sump conversation with the helpful people here im moving onto lights. Background info/plans i have experience with aqua illumination lights and the mobius app for ecotech but honestly dont want to pay the cost of radions. im not an sps head. i really only plan on...

www.reef2reef.com

wanted to link to another thread i started about recommended lights since everyone here was helpful and gave really good info

 

[wattsg30]

What did you end up deciding on for your sump?

 

[Maui The God]

What did you end up deciding on for your sump?

leaning towards the synergy reef sk-72. i love the look of it and the chambers with the ability to fit the rollermat. its complete personal preference for me but look is important. i know i can do cheaper but its the look. the premade chambers also helps me plan since im not trying to plan from scratch. i still love bashsea for look and quality but i can get bigger with synergy reef. just finding a deal now and reaching out to people

if i had the luxury of a sump room or plumping to the basement i would probably get one made using a glass tank or something like a 125g tank.

 

[Bruttall]

Simple efficient 125g 6ft aquarium sump on my system. This was right after I installed the baffles.
From my build thread, more info here ; https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bruttalls-96x24x31-300gallon-glass-cage.974424/post-11952512

Current and running condition, in operation now about 13 months.

300g 8ft display

 

[Maui The God]

soooo reopening this thread as some interesting stuff has happened recently. i helped a good friend move stuff out their parents house. noticed an empty tank and asked whats going on with it. 3 days later he shows up at my house with the tank, stand and legit everything for it. its an old tank and stand. i initially thought i could use it as a secondary FOWLR tank but its old and a bit ugly. so i thought why put extreme effort to resurrect it and the thought of using as the sump for my main tank became a possibility. id have to measure but im pretty sure its a 120g 4'x2'x2' tank. so heres my set of questions.

how hard is it to get glass pannels and silicone to actually make the chambers?

the initial planning was for a 72" long sump does loosing length in this situation make it a big deal if im gaining width and height?

now the possibility of setting it up in my basement. how difficult is this to achieve. not too keen on drilling through my floors though but my basement is unfinished so itll be easy.

i like in PA so with my basement being unfinished it does get cold. am i going to have to get it finished first to avoid fighting to heat it up with heaters?

what else should i be considering?

 

[Stevorino]

how hard is it to get glass pannels and silicone to actually make the chambers?

Not hard at all if you are keeping it simple.

I ordered my glass sheets off of amazon. I got a glass cutting knife thing and used it to score the glass to cut it to size.

Once you have the right size, I use painters tape to support it, and then silicone, and let sit a day.

If you were trying to do roller mats and stuff, I think that could be more complicated, but still doable.

the initial planning was for a 72" long sump does loosing length in this situation make it a big deal if im gaining width and height?

Depends on what you want in the sump, but I don't think so at all

now the possibility of setting it up in my basement. how difficult is this to achieve. not too keen on drilling through my floors though but my basement is unfinished so itll be easy.

Yeah, you'll just need a bigger pump, probably something that is not submersible unless you are directly underneath.... and that you have to drill a hole in the side of your sump with a bulkhead and plumb.

Iwaki is my go-to. I may actually have my old one (from old house) that only has a year of use. If you are interested, let me know and I'll see if I can find it.

i like in PA so with my basement being unfinished it does get cold. am i going to have to get it finished first to avoid fighting to heat it up with heaters?

If it's consistently below 60 degrees, I think you at the very least need to get some insulation or prepare to heat the space/tank more. My old basement was in the low 60s/ high 50s during the winter and the heaters just ran more.

what else should i be considering?

At least when I have done glass baffles, with very thin sheets of glass.... the downside is that they are always pretty fragile. So you have to be extra careful when putting gear in there and cleaning. This is the main reason why acrylic is ideal for sumps.

Getting thicker glass is better long-term, but more costly on the front end.... and if you are cutting it, more difficult on that front as well.

Before buying and installing the baffles, I would first drill holes into the tank and make sure that is successful. If you crack a side panel when drilling, the tank is trash. And yes, I have done that twice myself lol

 

[Bruttall]

soooo reopening this thread as some interesting stuff has happened recently. i helped a good friend move stuff out their parents house. noticed an empty tank and asked whats going on with it. 3 days later he shows up at my house with the tank, stand and legit everything for it. its an old tank and stand. i initially thought i could use it as a secondary FOWLR tank but its old and a bit ugly. so i thought why put extreme effort to resurrect it and the thought of using as the sump for my main tank became a possibility. id have to measure but im pretty sure its a 120g 4'x2'x2' tank. so heres my set of questions.

how hard is it to get glass pannels and silicone to actually make the chambers?

the initial planning was for a 72" long sump does loosing length in this situation make it a big deal if im gaining width and height?

now the possibility of setting it up in my basement. how difficult is this to achieve. not too keen on drilling through my floors though but my basement is unfinished so itll be easy.

i like in PA so with my basement being unfinished it does get cold. am i going to have to get it finished first to avoid fighting to heat it up with heaters?

what else should i be considering?

I can tell you from experience that you have to make that glass as clean as new to get good adherence from the Silicone, I recently had a baffle cut loose in my 6ft 125g sump because I failed to clean the glass good enough. I re-used an old tank as well. IMO Scrape with a razer, wipe with acetone maybe to make sure you have a super clean surface to work with. Rubbing Alcohol or maybe Vodka even might work. Do that in a well ventilated area. I am sure others will have better suggestions for glass cleaners.

 

[Blue Ring Octopus]

Want and fit are two different things, have you tried a mock up and see what actually fits under your stand. Try sliding something in with the same dimensions.