No SUMP? No problem! You don’t need it. What else do you not need?

Have you ever had a reef tank with no sump and how did it go?

  • YES and it was just fine

    Votes: 436 57.8%
  • YES but it was difficult

    Votes: 138 18.3%
  • NO

    Votes: 167 22.1%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 13 1.7%

  • Total voters
    754

sfin52

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7 yrs no sump hob skimmer 2 power heads and a fluval fx4.
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Raph

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Many ways to have a successful aquarium!

My preference is always a sump - gives you many options on the setup and equipment, and can make the aquarium look less cluttered.

Hard to say whats not needed. Again my preference is not to use filter socks.
Just to know what do you use instead of filter socks and why? Thanks!!
 

PeterC99

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Just to know what do you use instead of filter socks and why? Thanks!!
3D printed small cups with holes in bottom where socks would go. Put very small piece of filter floss in there and change every 5 days.
 

Jbdrywallking

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I have a FOWLR system 110 gallon, with 2 HOB filters, a Eshopps HOB protien skimmer, and a HOB phos reactor with phos x and nitrate remover. Find it a constant battle keeping nitrates, phosphates and diatoms under control. Constantly doing water changes. If I had to do over would DEFINITELY have a sump ! Disappointed in the challenges this system has presented me . ALWAYS use RODI water
 

Fishyj

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I have a Fluval 32.5 aio. I would not consider it a sump just do to the fact it does not increase water volume in my tank. I have had success with both setups as well as problems with both.
 

dross9615

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I have a Fluval 32.5 aio. I would not consider it a sump just do to the fact it does not increase water volume in my tank. I have had success with both setups as well as problems with both.

Had the same tank ( wasn't a big fan of the wide "u" shape for scaping) but now I currently have the jbj 28 gallon. Hopefully upgrade again soon. But I really enjoy the simplicity of AIO especially nano tanks.
 

Soylent Wrasse

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I stopped with sumps about three or four years ago and will never go back. My biggest tank is 100ish gallons, I glued over the dump holes (acrylic) and just turned the drain into a refugium. No skimmer, I just do H20 changes, swap out carbon every couple months.

Part of me dies inside when I see people paying more for a sump than most tanks cost. It's your money, so you do you, but regular maintenance (wiping things down, h20 changes, looking at the animals to see what's what) always wins over "the latest, greatest" every time.
 

DaddyFish

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I just shut that sumpless reef tank down and don't have any recent photos. I set it up as a foster tank (90-gal) for a friend who was moving across state. Wound up running it 18-months using a FX6 canister, Tidal-110 HOB and biopellets. It was fairly easy to maintain and remained healthy until I moved out almost all the livestock. Then man!!! did things go haywire!!! But that was to be expected. Life is all about balance Danielson, go finda balance!

I still have and love my 90-gal FOWLR. It runs on a Oase Biomaster 850 Thermo and a Fiji HOB refugium modified to be an algae scrubber. Rock solid tank and the Oase makes maintenance simple, quick and effective.
 

rustyreefer

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Never had a reef tank with no sump but had plenty of freshwater tanks in my day with no sump. I used to think canister filters where the best.. Now I just look at them as nitrate factories.(out of sight out of mind) I prefer the sump setup for sure.
 

umersaleem0388

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I have a 75 gallon mixed reef running on a cannister filter and a hob skimmer. I do bi weekly water changes sometimes I can stretch it up to a month with no water change.
 

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Merv49

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I ran my first reef tank without a sump for a long time and some of you may have as well. I also ran my first successful reef tank without a ton of gadgets and gear and had a pretty nice reef! Sumps are great because it gives you more water volume, conceals equipment and gives you more options but the fact is you don't have to have it. Today let's talk about stuff you don't have to have to keep a successful reef aquarium.

1. Have you ever had a reef tank with no sump and how did it go?

2. What other items, gear, equipment or gadgets do you NOT NEED to have a nice reef tank?



Sumpless reef tank image via @myzislow
zoanthids825-1.jpg
So many questions come to mind here. Where are the fish. Can you run a reef tank like mine with 30 fish with no sump????
 

rossroams

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My 75 gallon. First actual reef tank. Sumpless and uses macro algae, and a cheap air stone skimmer that occasionally runs in an Aquaclear 70. Nitrates always next to nothing, I drip kalk and I perform a water change maybe 4 times a year ranging from 5-15%. I honestly don’t want to transition to the new 125 barebottom with a sump.
 

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Appoloreefer

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I have a 125 gallon with no sum and it only has a HOB protein skimmer, my corals are doing great, fish are doing great so I know it can be done. I personally do not mind the fact that my protein skimmer hangs on the back of the tank. I test and do water changes but I have to admit my tank is more stable in the 125 than it was in my 90 gallon. I have no intention of adding a sump. I have all soft corals and maybe that is another reason the tank is doing so well.
 

Reef Rhino

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My main 75G reef tank has a large sump, but not these four other new and young tanks that use Aquaclear 70 HOBs for sponge filtration, Matrix, and/or carbon:

75G FOWLR (but will have lots of softies)
14G frag tank / shroom farm
10G Macroalgae, just started
2G office shelf tank with shrooms and hermits.

75G FOWLR.jpg
14G Frag.jpg
10G Macro.jpg
2G.jpg
 

Gogol_frag

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I ran my first reef tank without a sump for a long time and some of you may have as well. I also ran my first successful reef tank without a ton of gadgets and gear and had a pretty nice reef! Sumps are great because it gives you more water volume, conceals equipment and gives you more options but the fact is you don't have to have it. Today let's talk about stuff you don't have to have to keep a successful reef aquarium.

1. Have you ever had a reef tank with no sump and how did it go?

2. What other items, gear, equipment or gadgets do you NOT NEED to have a nice reef tank?



Sumpless reef tank image via @myzislow
zoanthids825-1.jpg
I am attempting an 170 gallon, sump-less, peninsula-style mixed reef.

First, the bad:
  1. Getting a good HOB skimmer is a challenge. I currently use a Deltec MCE 601, which is capable but not great. Looking to get a LifeReef HVS3 - which is rated for 250-300 gallons - Jeff really stands by his products - so hopefully the HVS3 will sort me out
  2. You can wish the "clean-look" good bye. My far Wall (inside and out has become completely filled up). But that is the trade-off isn't it? If you do it in a peninsual-style you maybe able to get away (somewhat) with this murder.
  3. Mechanical filtration is inferior IMO if you don't have a sump.
  4. Options for Turf-Algae Scrubbers are not great, when not using sump.
  5. You lose a hospital for your injured fish without a sump (assuming that you could catch fish in a reef, which I am really bad at)
Next, the awesome:
  1. I don't ever have a nightmare about a flood (and haven't had a flood yet) ... since I don't have a siphon. - This is the main reason I chose the sumpless-route.
  2. I can use all of the unused sump-space to grow plenty of live food, and detritivores - one could argue that the befits of this outweighs the weaker filtration choices
  3. I don't have the headache of also worrying about my sump (plumbing, baffles, water-levels, noise) on top of the worries about my display tank.
  4. I have an in-tank refugium, of Ulva, which uses my high-powered reef-lights for photosynthesis. And the tangs eat the Ulva as it grows through the slots of their acrylic "cages".
  5. I can have all the filtration choices in a sump-less setup I have an UV sterilizer for 350 Gallons, a skimmer rated for 160 gallons (LifeReef HVS3 is rated for 250-300 gallons), a Turf-Algae Scrubber, a 5 gallon Biopellet Reactor, a 1 foot × 1 foot × 6" Refugium - full of Ulva and a Mechanical Filter. Having said that ... since the equipments are not overtly beefed-up, the tank may take longer to settle. I am in my 5th month of ugly phase... but the uglies seems to be on the decline.

Hope this helps. I still believe that SPS corals can thrive in sumpless big-tanks. Time will tell.
 

Gogol_frag

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So many questions come to mind here. Where are the fish. Can you run a reef tank like mine with 30 fish with no sump????

So many questions come to mind here. Where are the fish. Can you run a reef tank like mine with 30 fish with no sump????
I believe that there is an YouTube video of a guy who does this, with number of fishes similar to yours. Link:

I am attempting one myself, and will keep you posted. My display tank is 170 gallon, so unfortunately not big enough to host 30 fishes :).
 

arussellnsg

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I don't have room or tank setup for a sump. Hob skimmer filter in one and a surface skimmer is my filtration, along with live rock, live sand, and CUC.
It's going pretty well if I do say so myself. It'll be 2 years this Jan which has included an upgrade size and many lessons learned so my frags here are about 2 months old, vs the candycane, 18 months and torch 6 months, and RFA 9-12months old
 

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