Thoughts?

Hello all. So I have a 29g bow that has been up and running for about 4-5 months now. I'm now entertaining a 10g sump. I've had issues with my PS and micro bubbles so I've wrapped filter material around the output but now my cylinder water level raises so much that my skimmer is at risk of leaking where it meets the collection cup. I've tried to loosen it and slide it down on the pipe but it's not ideal. Also I figure it's a much cleaner look having most of the equipment in the DT out of sight. I've heard some say that a tank this small wouldn't really benefit from a sump... I figure I could put my PS, heater, and perhaps leave my HOB filter (would I even need it or can I move that to the sump as well) and just have it with the return and a couple power heads, clean it up a bit... I'd like to begin adding corals but have just now started with a few polyps and mushrooms. I think my rather large fully grown pods are eating my polyps...I see them crawling around their base and I think they are beginning to thin. But that's another story I digress! (you can see the polyps in my album, it's the yellow tentacle kind not the zoas.... Yes I ramble, thanks in advance.

 

Nick,
IMO - EVERY and ANY tank would benefit to the overall success and health of a DT.
Sumps add the thing we all seek to obtain - stability. They mean larger water volumes so swings in parameters are buffered by this larger volume - ie. - temp/salinty/pH swings are all lessened by this. Also - your fish/corals will benefit from the extra oxygenation/filtration. Lastly - putting everything in the sump gives you a much more professional look to the tank.

Take a look around on this forum for how to build sumps. There is a veritable wealth of DIY sump info for tanks from 10 to 1000 gallons.

good luck!!

 

Thank you. I have done some research. There are still a lot of things I'm curious about. For instance can I simply top off my sump as opposed to my DT? The more I think and learn the more I want to do it. really the only things I'd need in my DT would be the return obviously and some powerheads. I could even remove some rock and keep it in the sump-I guess that would be a fuge then at that point right?

 

Lots of questions here:

ATO can DEF be put in your sump. It's the only place where your water level goes down, and only place your ATO sensor will activate. When you you have a sump, the return section (where your pump returns to the DT) is where you will put your ATO float valve/sensor.

Depending on what coral you want - it will determine how much flow you will need. You will need about 1000GPH total water circulation in your DT in my opinion. This will give you in the neighborhood of 25-30 times your total (DT+SUMP=TOTAL) water volume of about 40-45 gallons. You would want a return pump that was large enough to give you good flow at 4' head and small enough to either fit under your stand (for external) or in your return chamber of your sump (for internal).

Just by dumping LR in the sump will not necessarily give you a "fuge" IMO. For a fuge, it is best accomplished through isolation of this faster, full flow through your sump, and more of a gentle (10% total system volume/hour) flow through the fuge. A lot of people will tell you that a "fuge" is just a DSB that allows pods and other fauna to flourish without any predators that are found in your DT. Others yet will tell you to add sand and macro. Others still will tell you to add sand, macro and LR. It is a matter of what works for you and your system.

Putting LR in your sump will help if you want to take some out of the DT. The beneficial bacteria will still populate the rock in the sump and they do not require light (only need light to grow attractive coraline - which if this is a sump you dont care about that anyway!).

Hope this helps!

 

not only will the sump give you a place to put extraneous eqpt, but it increased your water volume which helps in stability.