• Welcome back Guest!

    MARSH is a private reefing group. Comments and suggestions are encouraged, but please keep them positive and constructive. Negative threads, posts, or attacks will be removed from view and reviewed by the staff. Continually disruptive, argumentative, or flagrant rule breakers may be suspended or banned.

Are Sumps Worth It? (1 Viewer)

Users who are viewing this thread

sneezebeetle

Treasurer
Staff member
Moderator
Board Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
5,525
Reaction score
1,899
Location
Houston, TX
My first set up was a 42gl tank with "fake" decor, a cheap light, and a canister filter.

The beneficial bacteria began to colonize in my media used in my canister and substrate. When I did water changes I would save the SW and use that rinse the media in my canister filter so I wouldnt kill off any bacteria that had grown in there. If you use FW your basically setting yourself up for a new bacteria bloom and/or mini cycle each time you do maintenance. But a canister filter is completely doable on a SW tank with or without corals

At one point I removed all the decor and replaced it with LR I had been cycling for abt a month and was eventually able to add lps, softies, shrooms, and zoas and they all thrived with a canister filter.

Once my confidence and understanding grew, I added a HOB fuge with a skimmer and eventually upgraded my light before upsizing the tank all together.

Guess what Im trying to say is anything is possible so long as your willing to put in the extra time and effort needed for the type of system and set up you choose to run. I know people who grow amazing corals with simple HOB FW filters hanging off the backs of their tanks, but they are also very diligent in their routine.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

Reefy

Guest
Joined
Sep 3, 2018
Messages
63
Reaction score
45
Location
Woodlands
My first set up was a 42gl tank with "fake" decor, a cheap light, and a canister filter.

The beneficial bacteria began to colonize in my media used in my canister and substrate. When I did water changes I would save the SW and use that rinse the media in my canister filter so I wouldnt kill off any bacteria that had grown in there. If you use FW your basically setting yourself up for a new bacteria bloom and/or mini cycle each time you do maintenance. But a canister filter is completely doable on a SW tank with or without corals

At one point I removed all the decor and replaced it with LR I had been cycling for abt a month and was eventually able to add lps, softies, shrooms, and zoas and they all thrived with a canister filter.

Once my confidence and understanding grew, I added a HOB fuge with a skimmer and eventually upgraded my light before upsizing the tank all together.

Guess what Im trying to say is anything is possible so long as your willing to put in the extra time and effort needed for the type of system and set up you choose to run. I know people who grow amazing corals with simple HOB FW filters hanging off the backs of their tanks, but they are also very diligent in their routine.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
I agree with sneezebeetle the pic below is my first tank and it’s a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon and does not have a sump. It’s an all in one tank meaning there’s three chambers to the side of the display tank that you can add your media, pump, and other things. My first chamber is a media basket with carbon, GFO, purigen, bio cylinders, and a mechanical filter. The second chamber is a fuge with three mangrove plants, caulpera and Chaeto macroalgae, and small chunks of live rock. The third chamber is the return pump and heater. That’s it and that’s all I have and I religiously keep up the husbandry with water changes and cleaning everything. That’s a must since it’s a nano tank anyway but without a sump you do have to keep up the maintenance and check the parameters.

I’ve had the tank for a year and four month now. Most of the corals have either tripled or quadrupled in size in that time. My most recent additions are from KP Aquatics and I believe I started a thread about ordering from them and I’ve been very pleased with their Corals and livestock. I also got some blue Zoas from sneezebeetle;) recently as well.

So to sum up yes it can be done without a sump and just starting out it is probably the best thing I did since I didn’t have to deal with so much maintenance and additional cost until I knew if I wanted to stay in this hobby.

Good reefing and stay in touch with the people here they’re great!

F3454D41-5046-4CD9-A9D4-E77F34B59D1E.jpeg
 

decimal

Supporting Member
Build Thread Contributor
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
2,513
Reaction score
1,152
Location
humble
Note worthy that a light to maintain softies etc. for a 75g will set you back a pretty penny as well as running a Fuge which will require a sump as well as the equipment needed to loop that into the system that also adds additional cost. Initially I mentioned that an established system for sale that just needs a little TLC might be the best option to start with LPS and SPS.
 

oguzman

Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
186
Reaction score
123
Location
45 and Telephone Rd (in 610 loop)
Yes sumps are def worth it. If money is tight go with a 10g or 20g aqueon run a cheap cfl or led with some chaeto. Wait on the skimmer. I would see if you can get some cheap glass cut for the separators.
 

Cody

Vice President
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Content Moderator
Board Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2014
Messages
7,284
Reaction score
4,254
Location
Spring, TX
Yes sumps are def worth it. If money is tight go with a 10g or 20g aqueon run a cheap cfl or led with some chaeto. Wait on the skimmer. I would see if you can get some cheap glass cut for the separators.
So long as it fits in the stand, his best bet is to wait for the dollar per gallon sell at petco, get a 20 long tank for $20, and add baffles. He can silicone them in no problem.

Feel free to reach out to me for instructions on how to build things. Siliconing baffles into a tank is easy. Drilling a tank is easy too. I learned a lot about building because I was curious and it was cheaper. Are you a fan of making things yourself?
 
OP
OP
Mpolasek

Mpolasek

Guest
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
428
Reaction score
79
Location
Houston
no but my brother is a very handy person who wants to be a engineer and built robots so i can just make him do it if i have to i know some fish stuff but when it comes to wood work and silicons and metals i just force him to do it
 
Top