Monaco System or not?

[Dagwood]

I am in the research phase of reef tank keeping. I am very interested in getting going. I am planning on buying 144 gallon tank. I plan on using live rock, live sand ect. I have purchased a R/O filter system for my future water use. I have been reading Reef Aquariums by John H. Tullock and have gotten alot of ideas for my tank.

My question is this, Should I go with an internal overflow box (tank drilled by the manufacture) and set up a sump under the main aquairum or use two canisters for filtration. My local dealer told me that if I ever wanted a sump system to go with the tank predrilled for the internal overflow now.

I like the idea of a sump system (as it will add to the total water volume) but I have a friend that swears by using canisters and resins to acheive great reef results. I have considered using both a sump and canister setup.

The real question I have is if I use a sump system, could I use a small aquarium as the sump (like 25 gallons) and set up a deep live sand bed with some live rock in the sump to achieve the results of a monaco system?

My concerns are how to setup the aquarium/sump so that I do not burn out the pump (by sucking up the live sand) and is that a good idea? If there are any available would like to see any photos of examples of this type of system setup. Should I use a light on the sump or keep it in the dark? Can I use a wet/dry filter on this type of aqarium sump and are there any examples of that?

A friend has given me two 300 watt submersible heaters, a UV sterilizer and some power heads

Thanks for reading my rambling post. I want to proceed and look forward to success.

 

[Rob Top]

IMO go with the sump. You get the extra water volume as noted, and a place to locate the other equipment, eater, skimmer ect. AFA the canister goes I would say if you have on, use it for mech filter, but clean it often. If you don't have one, don't spend the money on that, get a filter sock for the sump and that will do the trick and be much cheaper. The savings can go to the lighting and skimmer needs which are the two most expensive parts of a set up. As for sand and rock in a sump, this is a refugium. You will need baffles to keep the sand from getting blown around. If you search the DIY pages you can see several sump set ups to get an idea of sump set ups. A 25 gal tank would be fine, however there are cheaper altenatives, Rubbermaid containers will save a few bucks, are easy to work with and very durable. Glad to see your doing your homework first. That's the most important part of success.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hi Dagwood and :welcome:

Personally, I would go with a sump over the canister idea. The problem with canister filters is that they need to be cleaned frequently or the decomposing organics they can colllect can cause water quality problems (maintenance headache IMO). Most reefkeepers today prefer to use live rock/sand, lots of circulation and a protein skimmer for their filtration needs.

As for adding live rock/sand to the sump it's not necessary but it can certainly be done. It can actually provide a nice habitat for culturing live food for the display tank (aka a refugium). A small glass or acrylic aquarium works fine for a sump, and keeping sand away from the return pump intake is a simple matter of installing a glass or acrylic divider between them.

HTH

 

[ChrisRD]

If you go with a sump, check out this site for pics of different configurations - might give you some ideas.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

Also, make sure you account for any water volume that will drain down from the display tank when the return pump is off - see diagrams:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=952695#952695

Here are a few diagrams of typical sump setups and how they can be plumbed:
http://www.inlandreef.com/Images/DIY/Plumbing/plumbing.gif
http://www.inlandreef.com/Images/DIY/Plumbing/plumbing_dual.gif
http://www.inlandreef.com/Images/DIY/Plumbing/refugium_plumb.gif

HTH

 

[Dagwood]

Thannks for everyones replies and the diagrams! I will definately use a sump and have found some cheap refuguims for sale on ebay.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above Dagwood, especially how yoiu are researching first! To paraphrase the above...canister BAD! Sump good. Sump with baffles that not only keep sand out of the pump BUT act as a micro bubble barrier (from the skimmer) great!