No Sump + No Fuge = Successful Reef

ohioreef

ohioreef

Member

Originally posted by ViPeR_930
Oh, I see now, it is a surface skimmer for your bakpak. I made one for my bakpak too out of a plastic water bottle. But I want to make an overflow like the CPR ones that siphon water out of the tank and goes down to a sump for filtration.
Viper,
Go to my webpage and click on "Filtration." At the bottom of that page is a link to directions on how to build your own HOB overflow.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
thanks rossim, ill check it out.. can you post a pic of your overflow and where did u get it from and wat kind...
you have a 29G tank with a 10g sump, and 7g additional water... if having a sump means to have additional water and to hide your stuff, what if you just had a 40g tank? would that be enough then or for that you would need additional water?
what im saying is, for people who have tanks and want additonal water, what if they just upgrade the tanks, do they still need a sump? what if you dont mind showing ur equipment... :notsure:
now a fuge they say holds beneficial bacteria.. cant you hold that same bacteria in your main tank with maybe more LR or something???? :notsure:
to me it almost seems that a sump and fuge have become a fad and really is an accessory and just hyped up...
salti-hobbi has a real nice tank without a sump and fuge...
i dunooo.. somethings fishy... :nervous:
 
S

salt_hobbi

Guest
Ok, Mujtba calm down lol :yes: There is no need for a fuge or sump. My lfs doesnt use one on some of his tanks. I never used one and been good for about 2 years now when I first got into the hobby with a 10 gallon tank. But you know If its too much for you to handle it I wouldnt do it its just something extra.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
haha im calm salti... im just tryin to ask those people who do have sumps and fuges on why they did it and if my theory is correct... :thinking:
salti, how much water u change a month... do u add vitamins n stuffs?
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
:jumping: awesome!
everyone else should PLEASE read my theory above..
salti, how much water do u change per month?
 
smarls

smarls

Member
mujtba,
To answer a quetion you asked me earlier, yes I have a reef without a sump or a fuge...a "simple" reef, but I like it.
I agree with Salti - if it is more than you can handle, then don't do it. There is tons you can learn with a simple set-up. I have had mine for two or three years now, and I still learn a lot...that is with PC lights and a CC substrate, no fuge, no sump! (Talk about simple!) But with a simple set-up, and some maintenance, you can have a very succesful tank where the everything thrives (yes, including pods etc.)
At the same time, in my humble opinion, I would disagree with your "fad theory":
(i) sumps are not a "fad"...they keep equipment out of you tank, they increase your water capacity, and they allow you more flexibility in filtration and media choices.
(ii) a "fuge" is also not a "fad", it allows a safe place for certain creatures to thrive without predation, it allows additional biological filtration through additional live rock and sand, and it allows the growth and cultivation of plant life to help improve water chemistry by lowering nitrates etc.
But again, you do not need them for every reef. Do what you are comfortable with, and you can always modify your set-up later if you so choose. What is more important than fancy equipment etc. is keeping your tank healthy and creating an environment where things can thrive...and you can do that with a simple set-up.
Goold luck with your tank!
Stewart
 
rossim

rossim

Member
A sump and/or a fuge is not needed to maintain a SW tank. However, there are many additional benefits of having one. A sump does allow you to hide equipment and that is mainly cosmetic. However, it also adds extra water to the bioload. By adding an additional 7 gals of water to my 29 gallon, I was able to increase the amount of water by 25%. Will this make a huge difference, I'm not sure. I think it will since the tank is small.
Now adding to 10 gallon sump to a 55 gallon may be different. You may only be able to get less than 5 gallons of water in there since you need to leave room for all the water that will fall in if there is a power failure (this depends on the tank - where the siphon stops, how much tubing... you really have to experement with your setup to see how much you need). If you say 5 gallons, this will only be increasing your water/bio load by 9%. May not be worth it for you.
However, some people have 155 gallon tubs set up as a sump on a 55 gallon tank. Can you see how this would help the bio load?
I don't have a fuge (due to lack of room), but they are also very beneficial. The plants and algea that you can grow in them will help eliminate your nitrates and greatly help the bio diversity of your tank. Having these things in the main tank aren't always possible because your fish and inverts will eat them.
These are not "fads". The bigger the tank, the more fish/inverts/coral you end up putting in them. Thus the bigger the bioload. Thus the need for more water to help keep the bio load stable. You don't need to have one, but they do help. Trust me, there is no conspiricy out here at SWF.com that are trying to force you into getting something you don't need. If you don't want it, don't get it.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
thanx guys..
rossim, its not that i dont want it.. my question is do i need it.. thats all.. and to how helpful is it really..
i guess if i ever need a fuge, i can get those HOB ones. atleast theres no worries of floods..
 
neowind

neowind

Member
I do not run a Fuge or Refugium and have started to have a successful tank. I learned the hard way that if you don't do Major maintenence when not using these 2 things then your tank will have algae problems. If you work hard at it though then you can do it without these 2 things.
It is much easier to use them but can be done without them. Depending on your financial situation is how I would judge to get it or not :)
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
see i dont think its too expensive for a sump or fuge.. maybe couple hundred.. thats not why im sayin it. all im sayin is i dont want things that isnt really needed.
if u need a sump for additional water, why not get a larger tank??
fuge, i understand it holds stuff we dont want fish to eat right away.. i guess.
:happyfish
 
neowind

neowind

Member
Well a fuge will outcompete your algae in your display tank so that you don't get hair algae or any of these very annoying algaes. The Macro algae will eat up much more nutrients than Micro Algae's (hair or other micro algaes). So fuge is very usefull for keeping algae out of your display.
 
rossim

rossim

Member
Some people don't have room for a larger tank. They put the sump in another room out of sight. Also, did you read my previous post? If you get a bigger tank and keep exactly what you currently have in the tank, then it would be like adding extra water from a sump. However, if you get a bigger tank, you will end up getting more LR, more LS, more coral, more inverts, and more/bigger fish. This will add a much higher bioload. Therefore, a bigger tank without a sump may actually be worse off. The water quality may be worse because the bigger the fish, the bigger the bioload.
Think of the ocean. All that water that makes up the ocean makes up the water load that dilutes the bio load. Even a 10 gallon tank with a 155 gallon sump wouldn't come close to replicating what is found in nature.
Whether this is needed or not is up to you. People have successful tanks without them. However, without one you will have a little more maintenance to do (bigger/more frequent water changes). Also, you may encounter more algea type problems if your water quality is not good due to the bio load.
 
matro

matro

Member
I know I'm really late on this one, but it's about E-BAY.
They are no help. Their Mediation is a 3rd(4th) party process that costs like $20. I sent $120 to oklahoma which has apparently vanished(into the sellers garbage) and was never told until weeks later and loss of reciept(house turned upside-down) makes it irretreivable. Not to worry, western-union says if not cashed in 3 years, It will be mailed to me. They don't have my address.:sleepy:
 
latino277

latino277

Member
OK here is my .02.....
sump/fuge are deffinatly not a fad and are very usefull peices of equipment. However, it is not needed!
I have a 29G sump/fuge with 125G DT. that is feed by a amical (sp??) external over flow rate at ~ 700g/h. I use a mag5 for my return pump ~500gh.
I add this for 3 reasons
1) get all the equipment out of site.
2) I was having trouble with hiar and slim algea. the Fuge part of my sump has Cheto's. this is a more aggressive consummer of nutriens (nitrates, phosphates,...) than micro algea (hair)
3) to stabalize my Ph- when you Light go off in you DT you Ph tends to drop. soooo I have my fuge lights go on after my DT lights go off thus i do not get the Ph Drop.
It's really not that hard to setup. all you need is a sump (20G long is what I would get if I were you) and external overflow box (I like my amarical (SP???)). and a return pump that has a slightly less flow than you overflow box. and last but not least some PVC pipe to do the pluming from the overflow to the sump and from your return pump to the DT. NOTE: the overflow box should only drain what is returned to the tank. so if you have a return pump rated at 500gh then it will only drain 500 Gh to the sump.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
I've had no sump or fuge in my 55 gallon tank for the year or so I've had it. The corals in my tank seem fine and I've actually fragged the galaxea and xenias numerous times.
I do have two hang-on-back filters with all filter media removed that I use as tiny fuges though.
 
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