A tale of two sumps

[mpatterson42]

I'm currently in the process of putting together my first saltwater aquarium. I've been buying some used stuff I found on OfferUp and ended up with two sumps and I'm trying to figure out which one I should use.

The display tank will be a 40 gallon breeder, fish only with live rock (maybe coral someday but not for a long way down the road). Aquarium is drilled with overflow box, return, and plumbing. I'm planning on getting a mandarin dragonet at some point so I'm going to get a refugium and copepods going as quick as I can.

Sump 1 - 20G DIY Fiji Cube
This is a pretty classic design, with chambers for the overflow, filter sock, protein skimmer, refugium, and return. Honestly when I was planning on doing this myself this is pretty much exactly what I'd do.

Sump 2 - 30G Acrylic Eshopps
The design on this one is a little different, the overflow and refugium chamber is in the back, the protein skimmer is in the front, and the return chamber is on the side. There's no place for filter socks but honestly I wasn't planning on doing filter socks anyway (hoping to keep things clean with a bunch of live rock in the sump).

This one seems like kind of a no brainer, it holds more water, the blacked out refugium change will help with light spill, it's made of acrylic, and it's much lighter. However, the refugium chamber in the back makes it really hard to look back there when it's in the stand. I'm a little worried about it becoming a detritus trap as it will be difficult to look back there, and even checking the chaeto to make sure it's OK might be challenging. This thing seems to be more designed to be used with a peninsula tank where you can get to both sides easier.

Right now I'm leaning towards the 30G Eshopps just because of the extra water volume, but let me know if I'd be making a mistake going this route.

Thanks.

 

[TX_REEF]

I'd go with the smaller DIY sump honestly - when access to a section of the sump is compromised, maintenance becomes more difficult. Remember that the full sump volume isn't going to be full; prioritize usable footprint space over "total volume". My opinion.

Also feel free to check out my tank thread for ideas on how I set up my super simple DIY sump. I also recommend jax racks for acrylic sump kits, his products are phenomenal: https://www.jaxracks.com/sump-kits

 

[PharmrJohn]

I'd do a DYI as well. I made my own out of a 20g long for my 90g back in the day.

 

[Fish Fan]

I think you'll be fine either way, but my vote is also for the DIY sump. I've had a couple of those myself, and they are underrated, in my opinion. Clean the Eshopps sump up, and sell it for a few bucks.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'd go with the smaller DIY sump honestly - when access to a section of the sump is compromised, maintenance becomes more difficult. Remember that the full sump volume isn't going to be full; prioritize usable footprint space over "total volume". My opinion.

Also feel free to check out my tank thread for ideas on how I set up my super simple DIY sump. I also recommend jax racks for acrylic sump kits, his products are phenomenal: https://www.jaxracks.com/sump-kits

I have to say, after A LOT of research, and having owned a FijICube sump baffle kit (though never personally owned a JaxRack's kit), I think this is the "best value" for a DIY sump baffle kit. I purchased, built, but never used this 20L kit (decided to go for a larger display tank). I'm now looking to purchase either their 40B or 60B sized kit for a 150 gallon display tank I'm building:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275676397759?var=577053700520

 

[mpatterson42]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice. I guess I'll go back to using the 20G Fiji Cube.

Since I wasn't planning on having filter socks is there anything I can do to avoid the splashing sound when the water goes from the overflow change into the filter sock chamber? Maybe just fill it with aquamesh? I might even consider a fleece roller in there instead. Any recommendations on fleece rollers that can fit in filter sock chambers? I see Klir has one, but it also has a lot of negative reviews.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice. I guess I'll go back to using the 20G Fiji Cube.

Since I wasn't planning on having filter socks is there anything I can do to avoid the splashing sound when the water goes from the overflow change into the filter sock chamber? Maybe just fill it with aquamesh? I might even consider a fleece roller in there instead. Any recommendations on fleece rollers that can fit in filter sock chambers? I see Klir has one, but it also has a lot of negative reviews.

When looking at the sump as it's pictured above, with the sock holders on the left, is there space behind the sock holders in the back left corner of the sump? If so, your drain pipes can go in there, they will be submerged, and should run fairly quietly.

I personally HATE filter socks lol! If it were me, I'd go with some kind of media cup holders and maybe just some filter floss or PolyFil, which is the same as floss, just cheaper, found at Walmart and craft stores:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/high...zSo5c2aEjR-SrkouxS5JlvCK-4RBNVshoC2fMQAvD_BwE
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Poly-Fil...ppNQQA2Z2iCyFKSpFA-lzk1RBexehjrBoCWEgQAvD_BwE
Or, you can embrace no mechanical filtration at all. I know for sure some Reef2Reef members don't use any mechanical, and I know Josh from World Wide Corals says the same thing. I'm thinking about it for my next build.

 

[mpatterson42]

When looking at the sump as it's pictured above, with the sock holders on the left, is there space behind the sock holders in the back left corner of the sump? If so, your drain pipes can go in there, they will be submerged, and should run fairly quietly.

I personally HATE filter socks lol! If it were me, I'd go with some kind of media cup holders and maybe just some filter floss or PolyFil, which is the same as floss, just cheaper, found at Walmart and craft stores:

Yeah there's a spot behind the sock holders, that's where the overflow goes right now. It fills up that small compartment and then flows over to where the sock holders are. That's where the noise is coming from now, the water spilling into the cup slots. But those media cups look like exactly what I was looking for to quiet that.

I wasn't planning on having any mechanical filtration, but using those cups with some polyfil shouldn't cause any issues assuming I swap them out about every week or so, right?

 

[dedragon]

I wasn't planning on having any mechanical filtration, but using those cups with some polyfil shouldn't cause any issues assuming I swap them out about every week or so, right?

if you have any red solo cups (or any brand really) they also fit directly into the 4" holders. Just cut some holes in the bottom and they work the same as any media holder. Just cheap and also disposable, worth a try if you have any in the cupboard already
Im with everyone else, that eshopps one looks like a pita to work in

 

[Fish Fan]

if you have any red solo cups (or any brand really) they also fit directly into the 4" holders. Just cut some holes in the bottom and they work the same as any media holder. Just cheap and also disposable, worth a try if you have any in the cupboard already

That's a hot tip, I never thought of that! Thanks!

Yeah there's a spot behind the sock holders, that's where the overflow goes right now. It fills up that small compartment and then flows over to where the sock holders are. That's where the noise is coming from now, the water spilling into the cup slots. But those media cups look like exactly what I was looking for to quiet that.

I wasn't planning on having any mechanical filtration, but using those cups with some polyfil shouldn't cause any issues assuming I swap them out about every week or so, right?

Yes, the PolyFill is so cheap, and it's so easy to pull it and replace it, do that weekly or even every few days and I don't think you'll have a problem at all.