First tank ever

jcruz2010

jcruz2010

New Member
I am planning on setting up a 55 gal tank. This will be my first tank ever & I have some pretty newbie questions.
Like I see evryone has this crazy plumbing setup that goes down under that tank to a fuge witha skimmer then back up to the tank, my question is do you have to do this? Or can you just do a hang on skimmer? I would like to have some corals in the tank.
If I do have to do all that can any point me in a good direction on how to do a setup like that.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
No, you do not need a sump. However they are beneficial in a number of ways and most would reccomend them if you have the room.
1.) gives a place to put all the unwanted visual distractions (heater, skimmer, filters, ect..)
2.) increases overall water volume making the tank much more stable, increases the oppertunity to fix problmes before they get out of hand.
3.) mixes air and water for you so your PH stays in a consistant range.
4.) gives you a place to grow macro algae that will suck out nitrates and phosphates that are hard on fish, inverts and corals. these algaes would otherwise get eaten in the display tank by many of the reef fish we keep.
5.) gives a place to put hitchhikers that you don't know what they are or don't want in your display tank. or a rouge fish that isnt being nice
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

WELCOME to the site!
I personally don't like trying to drill a tank. I use canister filters and a Hang on the back skimmer on my 90g reef. A refugium is really useful if you have the room for it, which I don't. So I have a basket I attached to the back inside of my tank with macroalgae, to help keep nitrates down and have a place for good little critters like copepods to grow.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
dangit, thought i had a pretty good list going, totally forgot to add the spot for copepods to grow without fear or predators.
**high five Flower**
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
I would buy some books and read, read, read, before I settled on any setup. This forum will answer a lot of questions but for myself also being new to salt I found reading basics and advanced techniques help to point me in the direction I wanted to go. If all you do is ask open ended questions on here then your gonna mostly get what others like. Thats not a bad thing if you know who knows what. Not saying anything bad about peeps on this forum but I have found some other forums to have some real "experts". I think in the end you will find that a drilled tank with a sump is the preferred option by most reefers. Yellow Tang covered it pretty well.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3279027
I would buy some books and read, read, read, before I settled on any setup. This forum will answer a lot of questions but for myself also being new to salt I found reading basics and advanced techniques help to point me in the direction I wanted to go. If all you do is ask open ended questions on here then your gonna mostly get what others like. Thats not a bad thing if you know who knows what. Not saying anything bad about peeps on this forum but I have found some other forums to have some real "experts". I think in the end you will find that a drilled tank with a sump is the preferred option by most reefers. Yellow Tang covered it pretty well.

+1000
You can't ask the question if you don't know what to ask. So **High five Gill again68!**
A preferred OPTION is just that, a PREFERRED method, it does not mean the best. It is nothing more than a filtering system, just as canisters or HOB ones are. A canister allows for a spray bar, and a place to run different media...so it has it's good points..LOL
Now a refugium, if you can at all do that..DO! For a reef it's the best thing going. It will allow for macroalgae to grow, and give tiny critters place to breed, and strange little critters go in there just fine.
Put some serious consideration on a quarantine tank, best thing for new arrivals because a reef is near impossible to fix if it gets a parasite breeding in it like ich. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold.
Do your homework right on what crtters get long with what, and you won't have a rouge fish.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
We can help you setup the sump and what not.
But for your first tank try this. Just "cram in" a 1/4 square grid (egg crate or lighting diffuser) 3" in front of the back glass. Add 2 4' utility fixtures from home depot ($20) and 4 6500 tubes ($15) 3" behind the tank pointing forward. Add chaeto or caulerpa macro algae between the glass and egg crate.
I think you will find that will perform 95% of the functions of a complicated, flood prone external sump/refugium setup.
Just a thought
Worth at most .02
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
Originally Posted by beaslbob
http:///forum/post/3279091
We can help you setup the sump and what not.
But for your first tank try this. Just "cram in" a 1/4 square grid (egg crate or lighting diffuser) 3" in front of the back glass. Add 2 4' utility fixtures from home depot ($20) and 4 6500 tubes ($15) 3" behind the tank pointing forward. Add chaeto or caulerpa macro algae between the glass and egg crate.
I think you will find that will perform 95% of the functions of a complicated, flood prone external sump/refugium setup.
Just a thought
Worth at most .02
Not sure what this means
"I think you will find that will perform 95% of the functions of a complicated, flood prone external sump/refugium setup."
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3279155
Not sure what this means
"I think you will find that will perform 95% of the functions of a complicated, flood prone external sump/refugium setup."

Beaslbob is talking about setting up a refugium right inside the tank, so you won't need a seperate tank to have the benifits a fuge brings. I made a basket to hang on the back inside my tank for macroalgae. It allows for copepods to hide and breed and the wonderful benifit of nitrates and phosphates going to 0.
It's a great idea, listen to this guy if you can't set up a seperate tank for a refugium!
Not everyone wants or likes the sump idea
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3279155
Not sure what this means
"I think you will find that will perform 95% of the functions of a complicated, flood prone external sump/refugium setup."
thanks flowler
Sure the 95% is my estimation and it is based upon my ideas that it is the macro algaes themselves that make sumps/refugiums so effective.
Anytime you add an external tank you add complexity and just pumping water from one container to another can result in floods, leaks, and other problems.
I did the external sump/refug and the in tank partition on my 55g as I described. Because of my ignorance I experienced 3 floods with the external sump/refugium. But after I "got it right" I had no problems for 3-4 years after that. So with the right experience it is possible to setup the external and not have floods.
But for a first try the simple in tank refugium is awesome and very easy to setup. What happens is the aerobic bacteria reduce wastes to plant nutrients and then the macros convert those wastes to fish food. With the effect of balancing out and stabilizing operation so the tank can mostly take care of itself.
my .02
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3279027
I would buy some books and read, read, read, before I settled on any setup. This forum will answer a lot of questions but for myself also being new to salt I found reading basics and advanced techniques help to point me in the direction I wanted to go. If all you do is ask open ended questions on here then your gonna mostly get what others like. Thats not a bad thing if you know who knows what. Not saying anything bad about peeps on this forum but I have found some other forums to have some real "experts". I think in the end you will find that a drilled tank with a sump is the preferred option by most reefers. Yellow Tang covered it pretty well.
HAHAHA, he called me yellow tang.
I'm still waiting for a new name, I figured after i gto over so many posts i would be upgraded to a different name
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
Sorry Jstvd8, I must be drunk.
Thank you Beaslbob for explaining that further. I agree that if you set up a sump incorrectly then its a big ole mess waiting to happen. I also see, and agree that the inside the tank method your suggesting will give all the same benefits. I just think it will be more work to hide all of that. But for simplicity I totally agree that would be easier. In other words, I aint been doing this long enough to argue with you guys. Just wanted Jcruz to know that he really needs to do more research and consider what he wants and how it fits his systems needs. I have gotten so confused between books, the local LFS Guy, and forums that I was questioning everything. The end fact I have come up with is no matter what all of our systems will vary and need just a little something different. Its like raising kids to me. You know you have to feed them, clean them, and keep crap out of their mouths but no 2 of them are the same. Hope that helps and like Flower said listen to those peeps that have years of experience and then make up your mind.
 
jcruz2010

jcruz2010

New Member
Do you have any picures of what your tank looks like with the hang on equiptment
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3278853

WELCOME to the site!
I personally don't like trying to drill a tank. I use canister filters and a Hang on the back skimmer on my 90g reef. A refugium is really useful if you have the room for it, which I don't. So I have a basket I attached to the back inside of my tank with macroalgae, to help keep nitrates down and have a place for good little critters like copepods to grow.
 
jcruz2010

jcruz2010

New Member
Where do I look to find how to run the plumbing for a sump. Or does everyone just wing it? It looks alittle complicated.
 
jcruz2010

jcruz2010

New Member
wont the cleaners in the tank still be able to clean between the egg crate openings? Did you just cover the entire back of the tank with rock to hide the egg crate? Sorry for all my newbie questions.
 
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