Sump

[Subskipper]

Basic Question:

What benefit does a sump REALLY have on a reef tank.

I am interested in upgrading to a sump, but my initial thought process is that I don't want mechanical or biological filtration media in this sump: Just a overflow box, big skimmer and a return line. Question is, will a 65G reef tank with 130lbs of live rock actually be ok with just a sump and skimmer?

Thanks

Bernard

 

[alrha]

I think i have seen an ad somewhere for a new skimmer that can run in-line. if thats all you want, it may be something to consider.

 

[DallasNYC]

One reason for a sump is to hide all your equipment from the main tank. If a hang on skimmer & circulating pumps are less visible then adding the overflow and return lines, then it may not pay to have a sump.

Another advantage of a sump is you are adding more water to the system. The more water, the less drastic changes in chemistry and temperture can be.

Alot of people also add a refugium to thier sumps. A refugium is where macro algeas are allowed to grow unchecked. The idea is that the macro algeas in the refugium will compete with algea in the show tank for all the nutrients that algeas like.

 

[danny]

Hi!:

Dallasnyc is correct, I set up a sump/mud filter. I added an additional 50 gals water because of the sump-less fluctuation in water temp, added macro algae & I never had an algae bloom in the 1 year the tank is set-up not even in the cycling stages plus I have 2 heaters & 2 PH probes & maxi-jet 1200 for calc reactor in the last compartment of the sump. On the maintenance end water changes a easier I just shut down the pump & drain water from the sump & refill through the sump.

Dan

 

[Subskipper]

Maybe I am just so confused that none of this is making sense. I had an eheim 2227 wet/dry. This was doing the biological filtration, with it just having the eheim substrat pro in the media containers.

I am wondering how a sump, is going to do a better job of maintaining perfect water than the eheim?

Everyone keeps saying get rid of the eheim and get a sump, but why?

 

[marrone]

The big difference between a sump and a wet/dry is that a sump will have no biological material in it, except if someone wants to add a refug on. The live rock and live sand are your biological filteration.

What Dallas said is true by adding a sump you increase your water volume also you can then add a protein skimmer in the sump, which are usally better than the hang on models.

A wet/dry system, wether it's a eheim or an under the tank model convert ammonia and nitrites over to nitrates, which is not good for a reef tank. With a sump since you don't have any biological material in it there will not be any converting over ammonia and nitrites to nitrates the live rock and sand will take care of this. You will hear people say that wet/dry systems are "nitrate factories", which is fine for fish only tanks but not for reef tanks.

The thing with wet/dry systems is when they first started to come out in the 80's was that they also had built in nitrates elimantors. The one that I'm using on my 75gal has one and that would have keep the nitrates in the tank low.

The Eheim wet/dry are good, I use them on my fish tanks, but for a reef tank they will add nitrates to the water and if you had a choice a sump will give you more water volume and the ability to add a refug and a better skimmer. The con about a sump over a Eheim wet/dry is that you can get floods with a sump and you need to make sure the sump doesn't run dry.

 

[jackson6745]

Subskipper,
I have a 65gal tank also. I added a 30gal Sump refugium to my system which houses a skimmer, refugium, auto topoff switch, calcium reactor (drips into sump), heater, filter floss, carbon, phosban, and a return pump which is a big part of my reefs flow. I couldn't imaging all this stuff hanging off of the back and in my aquarium.
As for the canister filter, you don't need it. It won't do anything that your rock ore sand won't. With a saltwater setup you are going to need something that will remove nitrates whether it be large frequent water changes, a skimmer, or a refugium. Seems that most people these days use a skimmer/refugium combo which works very well.
Also, 130lbs of rock is going to be a bit too much for a 65gal (I made that mistake already). You are going to seriously restrict flow in your reef and get all kinds of waste build up behind the rock and in dead spots. I would suggest approx. 80lbs of rock, and some rock in your new sump

HTH,
Rich