newguy looking for opinions

newguy

Reefing newb
Hey all. I'm beginning my project within a few more days when the stand finally arrives. I have a 55 gal that I'm setting up for fowlr. I have already purchased a remora skimmer that I plan to place underneath in the sump system. I have 2 power heads on order to create water flow inside the tank.

I have a few questions at this point though. One is on the sump. Being a 55gal tank, what size sump should I plan? Also, I see that some sump systems have several chambers and other things, what are these for and can someone give some advice on sumps.

The second question I have is about heaters. I was told not to buy glass tube heater because they are horrible. I should buy titanium heaters. Is this really the case? I'm on a budget but I'd rather buy the "right" device once and not worry. Is this where I should spend the extra monay?
 
Hi and welcome!

Sump size: the biggest you can fit under your stand. Bigger = better when it comes to sumps. The chambers are just to keep different areas separate. You can easily create this yourself by going to a hardware store and getting pieces of plexiglass cut to fit the width of your tank, then siliconing them in. The most simplistic sump design will have 3 chambers -- one for equipment (skimmer, heater, etc), one for a refugium (sand, macroalgae, live rock rubble) and one for your return pump. If you don't want a refugium, you don't need any dividers at all, you can just throw all your equipment in there.

Most heaters are glass... But all heaters have the potential to go bad/break. Titanium heaters require a controller, and are top of the line, but if I were you, this is not where I'd spend extra money. If I were you, I'd instead get two smaller sized glass heaters. That way if one goes bad, you still have one working one for back up.
 
thanks for the quick advice. I was thinking that about the heaters but they scared me a little by mentioning the possibility of electricution if there was a problem. They also pointed out accuracy. Is there a well built glass that is accurate?
As for the sump, my plans was to put everything into a 20g tank without any chambers.
What are the biggest advantages of a refugium? seems to be simple enough to create.
 
A refugium has tons of advantages and is well worth it.

A) you can put a deep sand bed (DSB) in it, the sand should be at least 4 inches deep. Bacteria that turn nitrates into nitrogen gases live at 4 inches and deeper and they'll help keep your nitrates down.

B) you can keep macroalgae like chaetomorpha, which eats up phosphates and nitrates. They compete with pest algae for these nutrients, and they win. This means little or no pest algae in your display tank.

C) the macroalgae and live rock rubble provides a safe, predator-free area for pods and bugs to reproduce. The pods eventually get washed into your return pump and pumped back into the display tank, giving your fish and corals a natural, live food source.

If you are really worried about thermometer accuracy, you can get a controller that will turn on and shut off the heater instead of relying on the heater's internal thermostat (which usually aren't that great or very accurate).
 
I have two glass heaters for my 90 and three for my 125. the three in my 125 sump have been working for over three years with no signs of fizzling out. you will be fine to go with glass heaters. Just make sure to set them low on the thermostat as they tend to run hot and the heat from the lights will increase the temp of the tank

-Doc
 
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