What is sump

[freshwater]

what is the purpose of a sump.
Is it like a filter. If I have a filter do i still need a sump.


72G bow.
Magnum HOB
skimmer prisim
2 power heads.

 

[Bodine]

A sump sure makes it nice to stash all that eqiupment out of sight.

 

[Anonymous]

It can be used for a lot of purposes actually.

First is that it's used to get stuff out of the tank. Any hangon or drop-in type stuff can be a lot easier to get to and do maintenance on if it's in a sump vs. in the tank.

Another is that it can be used to increase your water volume. For me, that's definitely a good thing since I only have a 30 gallon tank. (More water volume generally = more stable tank.)

Sumps don't have to be made into direct filters themselves, but if you choose to you can. I think most people on here probably run something similar to what's called the Berlin Method.

From everything I've heard, if you're planning on doing a reef, you might want to (almost) pitch the Magnum. If you're going to do fish-only feel free, but the term I've heard them called is "Nitrate Factory" (not a good thing).

I picked one up to start with recently (thinking that I'd start my tank as fish-only then after it's cycled and stable I'd switch it to reef. - BBZZZT! Wrong. There's a HUGE difference between a reef tank and a marine fish-only.

Anyway... - For the most part, a sump is to get equipment out of the main tank and to add water volume.

 

[ReefLion]

In the simplest terms, a sump is just an extra container that holds tank water, with water being exchanged between the sump and the tank on a constant basis.

Most people put the sump underneath or near the tank, and pump water from the sump to the tank. Water then overflows from the display back down to the sump. That's it.

As others have noted, the main uses of a sump are to increase the water volume of the system (increasing stability), and as a place to put all of the filtration equipment, heater, etc. (to make the tank look nicer).

Tim

 

[mountainbiker619]

lets think of a sump as the trunk of your car. Should would not look nice if in the back seat had your spare tire, tools, supplies and stuff sitting on it.