To sump or not to sump, that is the question

[dschwartz]

I have 29G tank currently with HOB filter, CC bed, 20-30 lbs live rock and several powerheads. I have an old 10g tank sitting idle and was considering making a DIY sump. Would it be worth my while create a sump out of such a small tank? I thought I could fit in a small refugium and a smallish skimmer.
Am I crazy? Is it worth it having 10g sump on a 29g DT? Or, should I just wait until we get the upgrade itch down the road (our 29g is only 4 months old) and then build a larger sump out of the 29G for whatever new, larger DT we have?
Thanks,
David.

 

[eric b 125]

i say you should put the sump in. chances are, when you upgrade tanks, you'll have to upgrade skimmer, too. if you're going to drop the cheddar on a new tank and skimmer, they you might as well spend a few extra bucks and buy a new tank for the sump. this will give you some practice and trial/error in the whole sumping process. a 29 gallon has weird dimentions for a sump IMO. then you'll have 2 tank setups that you can play with. you can toss the 29 aside, and eventually you'll figure out something to do with it, like seahorses or something.

 

[stanlalee]

why wouldn't it worthwhile

a 10g sump is an appropriate size sump for a 29g and will house the neccessary sump skimmer, heater and water volume to improve your tank. it surface skims, adds flow via return pump, keeps the water line in the display consistant. I wouldn't do my 30g without the 10g sump.

 

[mnherper]

i think its worthwhile the more Filteing the better.

 

[dschwartz]

Thanks everyone.
Stanalee, do you have sketch or something describing what you have in that 10g you pictured. I couldn't tell from the photo but are there two areas or actually three?
David.

 

[pezenfuego]

To sump, or not to sump. That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the swings and algaes of outrageous hang-ons. Or to take arms against a sea of skimmers. And by opposing in them. To fuge, to reef, no more!
Anyway. On my 29 I went sump crazy. I love my sump

I have a 20 gallons sump. I recommend that you get the biggest one that you can fit, but don't go too big, it can get quite troublesome sometimes with little room. For example there is no way in heck I can get my skimmer out

Of course mine doubles as a fuge

Good Luck

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by dschwartz
http:///forum/post/2994808
Thanks everyone.
Stanalee, do you have sketch or something describing what you have in that 10g you pictured. I couldn't tell from the photo but are there two areas or actually three?
David.
this was the original design but it was built for a seaclone on my last tank. when I put it back into action I had to remove two of the three first baffles to make the bigger skimmer fit. so make sure to make the first section big enough for any skimmer and future skimmers you plan on using. also make the return pump only as big as you need. any extra space used is space that could have been used to make your fuge section bigger

this is from the 1rst time around.

 

[dschwartz]

Okay, so in my case, with an existing 10g I want to utilize, I should probably find an appropriate sized skimmer and then find the right size return pump and then size the baffles, etc. to just fit each, leaving the rest of the room in the middle for as much refugium as I can.
I've seen some folks with live rock bits as well, would that go in the first section with the skimmer?
David.

 

[stanlalee]

nope you want the skimmer and return sections clean. liverock goes in the fuge section. some people just put liverock there. some people just put sand there. some people just put macro algae there. some people put ALL the above there. you can put whatever but it goes in the fuge section. when people put liverock in a seperate section its usually a wet/dry converted and they put the liverock where the bioballs used to be.