Need Advice for New Aquarium Build

[helderduartez]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning on getting a 24G cube and I'm in talks with one of the shop owner's that is specialized in saltwater to see if he can build a sump as I think it's the best. The problem is that we have different ideas and I would like your opinions on the matter.

First he said I wouldnt need a sump, an HOB and a wavemaker would be enough, he mentioned the bubble magus qq3 what I think it would be kinda of overkill for a 24g. Would the bubble magus even have enough materia to be working 24h?

But since I will place the aquarium on my desk I went for the sump way to prevent water from being in the outside of the aquarium(afraid of leaks and water splashes). But again, I planned a design for the sump and he said it would be better if it was like he usually does, and again, said it should have more backspace to fit an bubble magus qq3.
I'm going to post both sump designs, can you guys help me to which is the best? I'm planning on stability and feeding only the necessary to avoid excess of nutrients and waste.

My sump design, where the water comes from the top and falls to a filter socket, then double walls so the water drops again and here I would place the heater and maybe in the future a nano skimmer or a refugium. And after I would have again double walls where I could place a sponge just to protect the return chamber from detritus or maybe nothing even, but I always assume that double walls is better than only one, I'm I wrong or is really pointless?
The measurements would be 3.5" deep, 3.5" for the return pump chamber and 4" for the first chamber.

Now the differences from my design to the shop design would be, only 1 wall for each chamber, where the water would enter from the bottom, travel to the top wall and climb to the middle section and then the second wall would allow the water to enter from the bottom to the return pump chamber.

When I asked if he could use double walls he said that the water should fall only to the second chamber and be guided to the last one to be efficient, but I can't get this, the top section of the return pump chamber would have basically 0 flow and could become "stagnate" no? He also mentioned that I would be rather better served with an external filter than with my design.

Ah, and the dept of this sump would be 4.75'', first he said it is the best for the maintenance(enough space for our hands) but when I asked to make it 3.5" he said the magus wouldnt fit and I said ok.

Which design should I choose?

 

[helderduartez]

About the sump designs, I already saw a thousand of design's like mine, that is why I tought it was the best and in my head it's the best because it keeps all the water in motion, but I would like to know the pros of the last design and If I would really need a magus qq3 for a 24g.

 

[MoshJosh]

Magus QQ3 is the larger version of the QQ1 if I'm not mistaken, and the QQ1 is rated for 24 gallons. I have read mixed reviews about these skimmers (and these are skimmers not HOB filters). I would go with the QQ1, thinking about buying one myself.

Many people will tell you a skimmer is not needed on smaller tanks as long as you keep up with water changes.

As far as the sump designs I'm a bit confused, is this an AIO tank where the sump is in the back, that is what the design looks like to me, or will the sump be separate from the tank?

If I'm not mistaken the double walls are for trapping bubbles and for changing the orientation/direction of flow. If this is an all in one set up you aren't working with a lot of space so I might skip going double walled.

I prefer overflow on the top vs the bottom, but I don't think this is "technically" wrong.

 

[helderduartez]

Magus QQ3 is the larger version of the QQ1 if I'm not mistaken, and the QQ1 is rated for 24 gallons. I have read mixed reviews about these skimmers (and these are skimmers not HOB filters). I would go with the QQ1, thinking about buying one myself.

Many people will tell you a skimmer is not needed on smaller tanks as long as you keep up with water changes.

As far as the sump designs I'm a bit confused, is this an AIO tank where the sump is in the back, that is what the design looks like to me, or will the sump be separate from the tank?

If I'm not mistaken the double walls are for trapping bubbles and for changing the orientation/direction of flow. If this is an all in one set up you aren't working with a lot of space so I might skip going double walled.

I prefer overflow on the top vs the bottom, but I don't think this is "technically" wrong.

Yes they are HOB skimmers, my mistake. And there is that, I also read mixed reviews and saw some leaking problems on the QQ2.

I know, but he is saying that if I don't have a skimmer, I will need to do 2 or 3 WC per week, even after I told him I'm planning on keeping only a firefish and maybe a pair of ocellaris.

Both designs are AIO tanks, what changes is the flow direction of the water. And yes, my main problem with their design would be with the orientation of the flow on the last chamber, where the water enters the return pump from the bottom that is where the pump will be located, wouldn't be better to enter from the top to keep all the water moving?

 

[MoshJosh]

Yes they are HOB skimmers, my mistake. And there is that, I also read mixed reviews and saw some leaking problems on the QQ2.

I know, but he is saying that if I don't have a skimmer, I will need to do 2 or 3 WC per week, even after I told him I'm planning on keeping only a firefish and maybe a pair of ocellaris.

Both designs are AIO tanks, what changes is the flow direction of the water. And yes, my main problem with their design would be with the orientation of the flow on the last chamber, where the water enters the return pump from the bottom that is where the pump will be located, wouldn't be better to enter from the top to keep all the water moving?

The research I've done says either pay a lot for a good skimmer. . . or take your chances haha

I'm not sure how many WC you'll need to do weekly, that will depend on some different factors, but I imagine once a week would be possible. . .

I guess a better way of saying it is using double wall/double baffle allows you to decide where water enters and exits the chamber

Picture 1 water flows down through the first chamber then up through the second.

picture 2 water flow down through the first chamber and down again through the second

 

[helderduartez]

The research I've done says either pay a lot for a good skimmer. . . or take your chances haha

I'm not sure how many WC you'll need to do weekly, that will depend on some different factors, but I imagine once a week would be possible. . .

I guess a better way of saying it is using double wall/double baffle allows you to decide where water enters and exits the chamber

Picture 1 water flows down through the first chamber then up through the second.

picture 2 water flow down through the first chamber and down again through the second

So is the bubble magus qq1 a good skimmer or not really? ahah

Yeah, I got that of the flow, but for the return pump it's better to receive the flow from the bottom or from the top?

He also mentioned I would be better with only one wall because there will be things growing on the glass that I won't be a able to remove if I choose the double walls.

 

[MoshJosh]

If I buy a skimmer for my nano I will probably be giving the QQ1 a try, for the cost it seems like a good option. . . But I don't own one and reviews are mixed. . . it it good??? for the money probably. . . are there better skimmers. . . yes

And yes if the baffles are close together it can be difficult to clean between them, though there are all kinds of flexible scrub brushes that could probably work. Also though, if they are too small you run the risk of something blocking/clogging them

 

[MoshJosh]

Here are a few pictures I found of some smaller AIO tanks that show how their baffles/flow works