Sump Question?

I have a 36 gallon corner bow front tank that I'm thinking of taking the plunge into corals. I've been doing FOWLR tanks for almost 20+ years but never had the nerve to step up to corals. I added new LED lights to start but thinking of building my own sump but have a couple of questions I'm hoping somebody can help me with.

I have a wet/dry filter on my tank now which still contains bio balls in them. I remember somebody here from 3Reef telling me to remove the bio balls little by little and replace it with rubble live rock... I've started to do that the past month but wondering if would it benefit me to build a sump for the tank or stick with what I have and continue to add live rock instead of the bio balls? It's easier for me to keep the wet/dry but I want to do what's best for the tank.

I have the wet/dry with skimmer/pumps at rear end of cabinet with bio balls at front of cabinet. The cabinet space under the tank is very narrow at about 11" wide and about 24"-30" deep. If I would put a sump, I can only fit a 10 gallon tank (Petsmart $10) under the cabinet. Would 10 gallons on sump be enough for the 36 gallon tank?

I've already looked at certain designs for sumps but it's confusing because everybody has different designs for their sumps? If 10 gallons is ok, what would somebody recommend me in design for sump?

I figure the reef guru's here would know what to do and steer me to the right direction... I figure if I can keep my wet/dry and do the live rock then it saves me the DIY project of building a sump for now. Then probably go back to Petsmart and buy a 20 Gallon long ($20 sale ends 1/31) tank and hold on to both tanks. Eventually maybe build the 20 gallon long tank with the 10 gallon sump for kids room or man cave... Ory

 

There's a dozen ways to skin a cat.

Slowly replacing bio B's with LR was good advice.

Few people use wet/dry's anymore IMHO

YOu can use different plastic containers bought at the big box stores for sumps too- I did it for years that way.

Good luck- too bad- you caught the coral bug!! ;-)

 

There is really no need for bio balls or rocks in your sump as long as you have a decent ammount of lr in the aquarium.All it will do in the sump is collect detritus.The size of the sump doesn't really matter as long as you can fit your desired equipment into it i.e. heater,skimmer,refugium(if you choose).People always suggest using as large a sump as possible to give a larger volume of water which helps dilute nutrients to some extent and adds a little more stability to the chemistry of the water.There is no right or wrong size.If it fits everything you plan to put in it then thats all you really need.You must also be sure that it is deep enough to run your selected skimmer and to accomodate the extra water from a power loss.

 

Thank you all for the input... Vinny made me realize that a 10 gallon sump wouldn't probably be enough to contain the extra water in case of power failure.. So I'm hoping to find something that could be 18" tall but has to be under 11" wide.

For the meantime I will do some work on wet/dry and see how I can make it work for a reef tank.. Any suggestions?

 

Just remove the balls slowly and leave it empty. Or you could add some mechanical or chemical filtration if needed .

 

i use a 20 gallon high on my 125 gallon. i use a 7" sock and have 2 heaters , my return pumps. and nitrate filter pumps all in there.

 

I've had success with wet dry filters and that's what runs my wife's tank currently. I did however fill it with live rock tgat I broke into chunks tgat was already cured. I have a drip tray with a few layers of filter pad to keep the detritus at bay and once a month I siphon the bottom. The rubble doesn't actually sit on the bottom though, I glued 4 corner pieces 3" above the bottom and then used egg crate to put the rubble on. Plenty of ways to do it and vinny brings up some very good points with his advice as well. Try to make it easy to maintain so you'll be more likely to keep it maintained

 

I run a 10 gallon sump on a 25 gallon display tank

 

I have definitely kept live rock in my sump so its not a bad idea I was just pointing out it really isn't necessary. If you are a person who likes changing the aquascape alot it can be a safe haven for biofilm. Just have to be sure it stays clean.

 

hi hi hi....remove the balls.....