Is it possible to do a saltwater tank w/out a sump?

king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
I have a freind who wants to buy a used saltwater system. it has,heater,T5lights,20gal tank,power heads,stand,hang on filter and skimmer. but no sump section. its a great deal for 150. but it has no sump. i want to recommend it to her but since it doesnt have a sump i cautioned her as well.
Is it a bad idea to do a reef system with liverock w/out a sump filtration system?Impossible or just difficult?
 
mie

mie

Active Member
It is no problem at all, having no sump just limits you on some things. I do not have a sump on my reef setup, I will be adding one but definatly very doable.
 
C

crashjt

Guest
She should be fine the main thing is I would use the Bio-Wheel type hang on not anything else and it wouldnt hurt to over power it in other words dont just buy one rated for a 20g buying one for a 40 wont hurt someone please correct me if Im wrong the other thing to watch is how old those bulbs are they may also need to be replaced and caution her not to clean it with soap and water before she goes getting all clean freak
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
no sump, no problem! many people dont run a sump. a sump will help with hiding equipments and increase water volume. live rocks, water movement and skimmer will do the trick. here is my reef with sump.
 
dustyboy316

dustyboy316

Member
Yup do it.
I am doing my 10 gallon build without sump, refugium or skimmer. I may add a DIY refugium later and maybe a skimmer.
Just tell her to keep up water changes, like weekly or bi weekly and that will do the trick.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2868257
I have a freind who wants to buy a used saltwater system. it has,heater,T5lights,20gal tank,power heads,stand,hang on filter and skimmer. but no sump section. its a great deal for 150. but it has no sump. i want to recommend it to her but since it doesnt have a sump i cautioned her as well.
Is it a bad idea to do a reef system with liverock w/out a sump filtration system?Impossible or just difficult?
she can actually turn a aqua clear 70 or 110 hob powerfilter into a hob sump with just a few modifications, the deal is a very good deal, its worth buying, and again, you can always turn a used ac 70 or 110 into a hob sump quite easily. the only reason im building a sump on my pico is cause i want something different, and i need the practice in building a sump LOL
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
You can run with out a sump with no problems but I highly recommend using one. If the tank is a good deal and just missing the sump I say do it, you can always add a sump later all you need is a used aquarium, a little acrylic or glass, and some silicone to make a custom sump.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Honestly except for the lights I don't see that as such a great deal... If your friend has the space I would go with a bigger tank. It will be much easier to deal with.
 
V

vince-1961

Guest
lots of folks make a sump out of cheap Rubbermaid containers
 
culp

culp

Active Member
it is not that hard to have a reef tank with out a sump. but a sump does make life a little easier. but for $150 it seems to be a good buy.
also what brand is the HOB skimmer? it better not be one of those cyclone 100. because they are crab.
also with the sump. a sump can basically be made out of any thing that is water tight and does not rust or leach toxins into the water.
 
jw1977

jw1977

Member
What does not having a sump limit? I know it takes up some water volume but what else does it limit?
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Nothing really, having a sump just makes several things easier. The increased volume of water helps to make water parameters more stable, it allows for a place to put equipment like heaters skimmer ect.., DT stays full and reduces the amount of salt creep do to splashing when the tank gets low, easier to add water to a sump than lift buckets up to the DT, you can add a refugium to the sump. There are more benifits than what I have listed but this should give you an idea as to the benifits of running a sump so even though it doesn't technically limit you by not running one the loss of all the benifits is sort of a limitation.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
the only reason I have a sump is to keep a stable waterline in the display and to place equipment (heater and skimmer). I ran it without a sump for years, just liverock and hung on seaclone (there's a skilter but it was only passing water. all it was good for).
 
slf125

slf125

Member
What's the 20g being used for? She could turn that into a sump. Otherwise, there's no need for a sump if she has appropriate amounts of lr.
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
I've Never had a sump, and have a few seahorse tanks....just have enough live rock and really good hob filters, powerheads , airlines etc
 
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