n2theblue
Member
To set up a sump you either need a drilled tank (one with holes in it to drain water to the sump below the tank) or an overflow box that hangs on the tank to syphon water out and down to the sump. Having a sump is great because you can hide all your equipment/heater/skimmer below your tank but it is not an absolute necessisty. Another nice thing to have (but not required) is a refugium. This is either incorporated in with your sump or another seperate tank to grow macro algea in and pull excess nutrients out of the water. A refugium is definetly nice to have if you're going to be raising any of the more sensitive corals.