NEW(ish) REEFER!

[SaltyCupcake]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[jblasi]

Welcome! This is a hobby you will get addicted to.

 

[Pau Hana Reefer]

Welcome to R2R!!! Sumps can be ridiculously expensive... But you can totally get away with a cheap DIY or some simply use Rubbermaid containers.

 

[SPR1968]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[windemerejack]

Hi and welcome from the UK. Very friendly and knowledgeable folk on here, you will love it.
Stay safe.

 

[Reefnman2]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[NeSsyAqua]

Welcome to R2R!!
Those sumps have compartments so you can add some other equipment (protein skimmer, reactors) also can convert one compartment as a refugium. And those baffles will help with micro bubbles to not get in your tank.

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r!

 

[BeejReef]

Welcome friend

 

[alimac122]

Welcome to R2R!!! You could use a 20 gal tank and build a sump.

Thanks what i'm doing. I bought a HOB overflow with tubing, a sump pump, and a 20 gallon, and bio rock all for $100

 

[dbowman5]

Hi guys! COVID has forced me to start up (another) hobby!

I was a marine biologist at an aquarium for 4 years, 4 years ago. Since then I quit working at the aquarium to get my masters in environmental engineering.
Now that I have down time I am really missing getting my arms wet.

So, I bought a 40gallon setup off facebook marketplace and converting it from fresh to salt (all new equipment).

I decided to add a HOB overflow to convert the tank to a sump system.
As an aquarist, our sumps were extremely basic--so i am confused as to why these sumps for sale are so expensive.
these compartments are "cool" but completely unnecessary. just use a filter bag, and make sure your return pump is guarded by some floss.
That was our setup..... simple!

so if anyone can explain the benefit to purchasing a divided sump that costs $250+ that would be great because I am truly confused.

of course you could find a used sump for much less. i have a couple of diy sumps that i made with small aquariums. The reason i have weirs are: to keep the protein skimmer at a constant depth, to allow automatic top off of the return section (this keeps the salinity stable), and to provide a refugium area that beneficial organisms can thrive in prior to being sucked up into the display where they become lunch. the variety of equipment that can be used is amazing. just decide whether your scientific side or your artistic side is to be satisfied. function vs form. esthetics are a big part of reefing, yes?
anyway welcome. started writing this then saw your post toBillldg. lol

 

[Orraclekiller]

Welcome to R2R

 

[alimac122]

of course you could find a used sump for much less. i have a couple of diy sumps that i made with small aquariums. The reason i have weirs are: to keep the protein skimmer at a constant depth, to allow automatic top off of the return section (this keeps the salinity stable), and to provide a refugium area that beneficial organisms can thrive in prior to being sucked up into the display where they become lunch. the variety of equipment that can be used is amazing. just decide whether your scientific side or your artistic side is to be satisfied. function vs form. esthetics are a big part of reefing, yes?
anyway welcome. started writing this then saw your post toBillldg. lol

For sure! and this hobby is super expensive (the biggest cost up front) so, as someone who has savings but is temporarily unemployed I am trying my best to compromise. Spending money on high quality lighting and making sure to save money to get the fish i WANT (i.e. black ice clowns ) and then cutting corners in areas that will not harm the fish/corals but maybe arent the "prettiest"

So I am not going to have chaeto to start, but once i have good inflow of income in a few months I will get a sump light and some Chaeto. We ALL know how important bacteria is, so I am not going to skimp on live sand (but I am getting dry saver rock). As well as investing in some high quality turbo start.

again, just making minor sacrifices now in the beginning so that I can purchase things that are more aesthetic to the actual visible part of the tank!

any other corners you think I could cut aesthetically, would be greatly appreciated

 

[yan2pr]

Welcome to R2R, have fun with your new project!!

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Welcome to R2R! Enjoy the build. Im running a 40 gal for a sump. Get creative and Post some pics.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[dbowman5]

For sure! and this hobby is super expensive (the biggest cost up front) so, as someone who has savings but is temporarily unemployed I am trying my best to compromise. Spending money on high quality lighting and making sure to save money to get the fish i WANT (i.e. black ice clowns ) and then cutting corners in areas that will not harm the fish/corals but maybe arent the "prettiest"

So I am not going to have chaeto to start, but once i have good inflow of income in a few months I will get a sump light and some Chaeto. We ALL know how important bacteria is, so I am not going to skimp on live sand (but I am getting dry saver rock). As well as investing in some high quality turbo start.

again, just making minor sacrifices now in the beginning so that I can purchase things that are more aesthetic to the actual visible part of the tank!

any other corners you think I could cut aesthetically, would be greatly appreciated

i am really new to salt. i started with live sand live rock and dry rock. I started simply with fish and rock. so called Fowlr to save some money up front. the demands for light, additives and control are a lot less than for corals. i have set up my system to add better lights in the future and expand the plumbing to add reactors as i need them. i am a very functional guy and am comfortable with healthy effective over a need for drop dead gorgeous. the first pic is my first diy attempt the third pic is the front of that tank the second pic is my basement sump as i was testing it and the fourth is a snap of my display today.

 

[alimac122]

i am really new to salt. i started with live sand live rock and dry rock. I started simply with fish and rock. so called Fowlr to save some money up front. the demands for light, additives and control are a lot less than for corals. i have set up my system to add better lights in the future and expand the plumbing to add reactors as i need them. i am a very functional guy and am comfortable with healthy effective over a need for drop dead gorgeous. the first pic is my first diy attempt the third pic is the front of that tank the second pic is my basement sump as i was testing it and the fourth is a snap of my display today.

Love the new rock layout! What we did at the aquarium sometimes was dremmel rock to shapes we like, if you want to cheaply (and have one on hand) make arches and whatnot. Also, I just dont see a point in having things separated by a physical screen/acrylic/glass. you want the protein skimmer to be at a certain height? put a brick under it, or better yet some bio rock. Also I really like that PVC inflow. great DIY job there (honestly looks a lot like what we had at the aquarium I worked at).

Overall I think my tank is going to be a FOWLR until I know for certain my water quality it stable. Ive read that some 55 gal tanks have been so stable that those owners havent had to do a water change in over a year (some without skimmers). So that is my goal. Enough clean up crew and stable parameters so that I personally have very minimal cleaning. I want the animals to do it for me.

 

[dbowman5]

i understand what you are saying.
If you don't have cascading weirs the inflow goes through a sock. it then moves over to the return pump. as the sock gets clogged the flow changes. as water evaporates the level drops.
depending on the type of ATO you have the on/off dead zone for the whole tank would account for more gallons than if you were only controlling for a small section. in my little system if there were no weirs a 2" drop in the 30 x 12 inch tank would be 3 gallons in the 6 inch return pump section that 2 inches is .6 gallons. a difference of 7.5% or 1.5% change in salinity in a 40 gallon system.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello,

Sorry I am a few days late saying hi. Alway get excited to have a professIonal here to answer my crazy questions

As far as sumps, and most everything else, there is no rule. Not everyone has sumps, cheato is also a preference, it comes down to research all the options available then pick and choose

Everyone has already pointed out the benefits of a sump, I will just add on I like it allows you the ability to hide equipment like heaters it. The skimmer was mentioned as being kept in the sump. the reason being is it performs best when the water level it sits in is constant Level. The baffles in the sump will allow for water level differences from chamber to chamber, keeping the skimmer section stable.

and welcome....