Tell a beginner about sumps:

Fish Fan · Oct 25, 2024

VintageReefer said:
Doesn’t even affect my numbers

Thanks for your help, that was the final question! Again, I don't want to take over the OP's thread, but my biggest question for you is do you have sand in your sump, or just the rock? Looks like you have more of a "contained algae area" vs. a dedicated algae scrubber (which is fine with me!) And, I HATE filter socks lol! I was going to run filter cups and some PolyFil, but I know many reefers run no mechanical at all. I'm really liking this methodology. I had been thinking about a big ball of chaeto under a controlled Kessil a80 Tuna Sun that I already have. Definitely some rock, and debating on doing sand and then having sand sifting clean up critters in the sump.... I'd really appreciate your feedback, but I'll start my own thread ;-)

Thank you, I always appreciate your help!

dedragon · Oct 25, 2024

Rappa said:
Sumps are cool!

lol the actual horticultural grow light above the fuge might be overkill but i love this setup

Fish Fan · Oct 25, 2024

Fenral said:
GOOD LUCK! God go with you...

I don't know what specific Mantid that posters is dealing with, but I have kept as a pet a Florida N. wennerae mantis. They can be trapped and even tricked into a net. And if that poster does trap it and it's an N. wennerare, I'd pay shipping and give that critter a good home ;-)

Fenral · Oct 25, 2024

Fish Fan said:
I don't know what specific Mantid that posters is dealing with, but I have kept as a pet a Florida N. wennerae mantis. They can be trapped and even tricked into a net. And if that poster does trap it and it's an N. wennerare, I'd pay shipping and give that critter a good home ;-)

Yes, some people keep them as pets... I am personally having nightmare flashbacks to the old days of real live rock and the carnage they caused me

VintageReefer · Oct 25, 2024

Fish Fan said:
Thanks for your help! Again, I don't want to take over the OP's thread, but my biggest question for you is do you have sand in your sump, or just the rock? And, I HATE filter socks lol! I was going to run filter cups and some PolyFil, but I know many reefers run no mechanical at all. I'm really liking this methodology.

Thank you, I always appreciate your help!

My middle section has sand…3” deep + rock. The other sump sections have rock but no sand

Tinnerito · Oct 25, 2024

Fish Fan said:
@Tinnerito As others have already mentioned, a canister filter (or a hang on back!) will absolutely work, no question. But it sounds to me like you've already made a decision to try a sump, and I encourage you to do so with good reason, as others have already commented on.

A sump can be almost as simple or complex as you'd like to imagine it, so there's lots of options from DIY to custom made. In the past, I have done DIY sumps using standard tanks and glass baffles I'd cut or have cut and silicon them into the tank. More recently, I purchased, but decided I don't want to use, a FijiCube 20" sump. I love it, it's bright, shiny acrylic and oh so "fancy" with its probe holders and such, but at the end of the day all the compartments are very small, in my opinion. I'm looking to sell it lol!

For my next build, I think I've decided that I like using standard tanks like a 40 breeder, and using a DIY acrylic sump baffle kit. If you don't mind a little DIY (and I'd be happy to try to help you), compared to the FijiCube and others, I think this sump baffle kit is the best one going. I had of their 20L kits, and I'm going to order a 40B kit for my next build, which would likely be a good size for your 60 gallon tank:

REFUGIUM KIT - 40 Gallon Breeder 5 Chamber ezBuild Ultimate Adjustable Sump Kit | eBay

This is our ezBuild Triple Filter Sock Holder 5 Chamber Sump/Refugium Ultimate baffle kit for 40 gallon Breeder Aqueon® glass tanks with adjustable water depth. Our exclusive ezBuild sump kits are the fastest and easiest way to convert a glass aquarium to a fully functional sump.

www.ebay.com

And if you're not going to drill your tank for an overflow, make sure to get a well reviewed HOB overflow, some of those can be a real problem. Best practice, I believe, is to drill (which is easier than you may be thinking) and go with the three drain hole "Bean Animal" style overflow.

Good luck!

Great looking setups! But are you guys not worried about having THAT MUCH rock packed into your sumps? In my experience, those kind of setups tend to collect detritus, but obviously you guys are not having a problem?

I'm currently just starting a 150 build, I'm going with a DIY 40B sump, and I very much want to embrace the large 'fuge methodology. I have so many questions lol! I don't mean to post over the OP's posts, but I'd love to know more about how you setup your sumps.

LOL! I have absolutely done this! I have gone in and out of saltwater over the years, so I have run systems with sumps as freshwater, and I have to say, I like it, lol! For all the reasons we like our saltwater sumps. I think the complexity involved with setting up and running a sump just doesn't appeal to a "typical" freshwater keeper, but I'm not sure why more advanced freshwater aquarists didn't get into sumps.

I greatly appreciate the help!

VintageReefer · Oct 25, 2024

Tinnerito said:
I greatly appreciate the help!

I forget if it’s been mentioned or not in these 3 pages but a sump also increases your water volume and more water = more dilution for ammonia or nitrates or anything really. And the more those things are diluted the less impact they have on the overall system. This in a way leads to more stability.

I have a 75g reef and my sump adds 15-20 gallons of water to my overall system.

exnisstech · Oct 25, 2024

Fish Fan said:
In my experience, those kind of setups tend to collect detritus, but obviously you guys are not having a problem?

The deeper the more room for critters. The sump I posted an image of has only been running since March but all of the rock came from an 8yo system. When I broke down the old tank I scooped the nastiness out of the sump and added it to the new one.

Waters · Oct 26, 2024

Fish Fan said:
@Tinnerito As others have already mentioned, a canister filter (or a hang on back!) will absolutely work, no question. But it sounds to me like you've already made a decision to try a sump, and I encourage you to do so with good reason, as others have already commented on.

LOL! I have absolutely done this! I have gone in and out of saltwater over the years, so I have run systems with sumps as freshwater, and I have to say, I like it, lol! For all the reasons we like our saltwater sumps. I think the complexity involved with setting up and running a sump just doesn't appeal to a "typical" freshwater keeper, but I'm not sure why more advanced freshwater aquarists didn't get into sumps.

I think it is actually a couple of reasons. Like you stated, the typical freshwater aquarists wants a simple setup with a HOB filter and fake plants. The aquarists who could beneift from a sump normally have planted tanks where the extra oxygenated water is detrimental due to removing CO2, which is being injected a lot of the times. The people that I think would benefit from a sump are those large cichlid tanks that don't have plants. That bening said, my freshwater tanks are heavily planted and I still use sumps lol.

Fish Fan · Oct 26, 2024

Waters said:
I think it is actually a couple of reasons. Like you stated, the typical freshwater aquarists wants a simple setup with a HOB filter and fake plants. The aquarists who could beneift from a sump normally have planted tanks where the extra oxygenated water is detrimental due to removing CO2, which is being injected a lot of the times. The people that I think would benefit from a sump are those large cichlid tanks that don't have plants. That bening said, my freshwater tanks are heavily planted and I still use sumps lol.

You're right, I wasn't thinking of planted tanks and the CO2 loss. I typically keep the larger Cichlids, no plants, so the sump worked well for me in freshwater.

Rappa · Oct 28, 2024

dedragon said:
lol the actual horticultural grow light above the fuge might be overkill but i love this setup

Thanks for the love - and yes you are right... it is definitely overkill. I started with a Kessil from my old setup, but it quit on me right after I started running water through this new build. However, this light was recommended to me by a fellow trusted reefer who has used the older versions in his sumps for years. It's actually pretty cool, it fills the entire refugium opening perfectly for my sump configuration, and I only have to run it at 25% (it's lowest) setting. It was also pretty cheap on Amazon for the size and quality of the light, and full grow spectrum. If it grows vegetables, it show grow some Macro I guess... If I remember correctly, it was under $100.00 - It is powder coated nicely and it seems sealed up real nice, the salt creep has made no impact on the light or coating. Plus, if you can't tell, I'm a bit of a gear-head, and I like the look of it

With that said, I love my sump and my dedicated filtration room. I know not everyone has the room for this, but it makes maintenance so much easier and actually fun for me. I used to hate spilling water all over the tank area upstairs, and my wife was always yelling at me for leaving the top-off water on accidentally and flooding the hardwood floor, or spilling water change water, and salt creep under the tank and inside the stand. The inside of my stand was jam-packed with fish foods, dosing bottles, and cords everywhere. It was a mess. And that was when I was running with no sump. With this new build, I knew I wanted a dedicated room if I was going to have a sump. I built this room in an un-used corner of my basement. The water drains down from the display, goes through the sump and pumps back up into the display. I enjoy having all of the equipment in one place. I built the sink and included a garbage disposal in it. I can rinse anything without worry (it will even crush up rock, snail shells, etc..). I also extended and ran my sink drain behind the sump, and all the way to the mixing station. My tridents dump right into the drain, and my auto water change hose is plumbed right into it as well. I can do an emergency water change manually if needed without running any hoses to the sink. Open a couple valves, turn on my mixing pump, and I can change 60 gallons of water in about 20 minutes. Otherwise, the DOS's do 4 gallons of water change a day automatically (almost 10% a week). I enjoy having zero noise in my living room from the filtration and other equipment, not having to look at hang-on equipment and cords in my display, and no worries about anything leaking or overflowing in my living area. All that I have to do upstairs at the display tank is clean the glass, and feed my fish. For these reasons, and more that I probably haven't mentioned, I wouldn't build another tank without a sump.