"Seamless Sump" System-- Am I The Only Person Using It?

[JumboShrimp]

I'm in the middle of a complete tear-down and re-do of my two 150 gallon FOWLR tanks, and decided to stick with the Seamless Sumps I have. I hardly hear anyone talk about them; I'm starting to feel a bit lonely about it. Lol! ;)

 

[Peace River]

You're right. I used to hear them talked about at shows and online, but I haven't heard them mentioned much, if at all, recentlyl

 

[TacticalBacon]

Never knew they existed. I will look into them.

 

[Peace River]

Although I have never had one, I always considered it an innovative product that never achieved traction.

 

[VintageReefer]

Looks expensive lol

I like it

But I’m scared to go find a website. I will want one and it will be pricy

 

[TacticalBacon]

Looks expensive lol

I like it

But I’m scared to go find a website. I will want one and it will be pricy

500-1000 bucks. I was afraid to look to but curiosity and all.

 

[VintageReefer]

500-1000 bucks. I was afraid to look to but curiosity and all.

My cart will end up on the 1k side lol
Thank you for the tactical recon, I’m not going down this rabbit hole

 

[JumboShrimp]

They are 'extremely' customizable (dozens of possible configurations), and the tubs themselves are pretty much bullet proof. Another 'plus' is that virtually nothing sticks to them, living or dead (Lol).

 

[areefer01]

I'm in the middle of a complete tear-down and re-do of my two 150 gallon FOWLR tanks, and decided to stick with the Seamless Sumps I have. I hardly hear anyone talk about them; I'm starting to feel a bit lonely about it. Lol! ;)

I've seen them around here and there. I think the main point of contention is around the price. Personally speaking I would have assumed that molded manufacturing would have brought down the cost by now. Maybe the market is so small in our hobby that it isn't possible.

I liked them as it relates to cleanliness. Little salt creep, easy to clean, and not that loud.

 

[Diman1974]

They are 'extremely' customizable (dozens of possible configurations), and the tubs themselves are pretty much bullet proof. Another 'plus' is that virtually nothing sticks to them, living or dead (Lol).

I have one under my 260 gallon freshwater tank and I love the simplicity and flexibility of this sump. At some point I was thinking about converting this setup to saltwater but Custom Aquariums told me that they don’t have a tub designed for a fleece roller and I need a new sump for a skimmer

 

[Peace River]

There are plenty of things in this hobby that are expensive and plenty of people buy those items anyway. Somethings catch on and somethings don't. To me, the Seamless Sump is one of those things that makes sense for the reef keeper that wants the benefits and is willing to pay for them. For example, I spent a fair amount of money on a water mixing station that is highly automated. I didn't need to spend anywhere near what I did, but I am pleased with it every time I interact with it and I am glad that I made the investment.

 

[Kodski]

I've looked into these in the past but ultimately decided against them for a few reasons.

1) Can't see inside. Sounds dumb, but I want to see inside my filter chambers to identify cleanliness and any potential issues. Also, I just want to be able to see what I'm doing.

2) Space, they just require a lot of space and I feel don't work well for smaller tanks under 6' due to the amount of space required, even more so if you need a skimmer chamber.

3) Height, I feel like anything that tall will become a pain to work around. Going back to #1, if I can't see in from the side that means I have to have my head under the stand looking down into it, which just doesn't sound very appealing even IF my big head can fit reasonably between the sump and stand. I shudder to think how difficult it would be to clean out taking into account the height and not being able to see through the sides.

4) Filter Socks only. That's a no go for me, personally I prefer to use filter floss laid flat.

With all that being said, Its not a bad system at all, just my preferences keep me from wanting to use it for my use case. I think this system is much more popular among freshwater hobbyists on larger tanks.

 

[TacticalBacon]

They need a reefmat option.

Kinda kills it for me. I’m too old and grumpy to be crawling around chasing filter socks.

But I really like the modularity of it. For a new reefer it is something you could expand if you upgrade to a larger tank.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Although I have never had one, I always considered it an innovative product that never achieved traction.

We tried a few back when they came out. I didn’t particularly like them. I don’t really like any prefabbed sumps though. I just want a rectangular cube with guts that I can design myself.

 

[JumboShrimp]

@Diman1974 , with your 260 gallon tank, I wouldn't hold back from converting over to saltwater just because of the fleece roller concern. You probably have so much rock and sand that the you could just use the giant media baskets for filter floss type materials, and don't even need them for other bio media. (This is provided you have a good skimmer.) I used just one basket of media balls because copepods seem to like hanging out there-- but the top two areas I use floss. Quick and easy to get to to throw away.

 

[Diman1974]

@Diman1974 , with your 260 gallon tank, I wouldn't hold back from converting over to saltwater just because of the fleece roller concern. You probably have so much rock and sand that the you could just use the giant media baskets for filter floss type materials, and don't even need them for other bio media. (This is provided you have a good skimmer.) I used just one basket of media balls because copepods seem to like hanging out there-- but the top two areas I use floss. Quick and easy to get to to throw away.

I hear you, and you’re absolutely right. I had planned to purchase their skimmer tub and pair it with a filter floss basket. However, the cost of that single tub—combined with shipping—was nearly the same as a brand-new 48" Pro Clear, which includes free shipping and eliminates the compromises I would have faced with the Seamless sump

 

[kdx7214]

They look great but are way out of my price range :(

 

[Aquarist76]

I'm afraid I just don't get the point of these. I've never had a sump leak despite having multiple brands and numerous sumps. If these were completely sealed I could see the benefit of them not ever overflowing, but they have openings in them for the things that are needed like filter socks, skimmer, etc. Can't see into them. Expensive. For this price you can get a quality brand acrylic or glass sump that gives you more flexibility.

 

[commod0re]

They look cool but in a way where it seems like it might actually be a pain in the butt, and it seems like a lot of money for a sterilite tub system made out of hdpe