Upgrading filtration.. is it worth the work?

chipmunkofdoom2

Reefing newb
Hey all. I know you're probably all getting sick of me, haha, but I haven't felt this way about my tank since I first set it up and I'm desperately looking to upgrade it to the tank I once hoped it would be.

I currently only have the crappy Whisper HOB filter my tank came with as filtration, and while this has worked for a fish only setup, I'm no longer interested in just fish and rock. Excuse me for sounding Dr. Seussish, but I'm looking to make the jump into a sump.

The first problem is my stand... I'm still pondering how it's holding up my diplay tank as it is, not even thinking of the 10 gallon sump I'm hoping to add. The first thing I need is a new stand, which I plan on building. I'm going to leave plenty of space for a nice 10 gallon sump underneath.

Having taken care of that, up comes my second problem.. moving the tank. I'm going to have to at least move all the rock and most of the water out of the tank before I move it off the old stand and on to the new.

Logistically I'm thinking I'll do something like this. I'll drain most of the water into a Rubbermaid container and then I'll put my rock in there as well. I'd like to leave an inch or so of water on top of the gravel and leave my clown and hermits/snails in there because I did a search and most of you seem to be of the opinion that it's best to move the fish as little as possible. If you guys think that would be too much weight and I'd be better off draining it all, I'm probalby going to swap out the gravel type substrate I have for some quality aragonite sand since that's been an eyesore of mine for a while... I'm just worried about how much this is going to stress my clown.. he's been with me since the beginning and I don't want to lose him now.

My plan after I have the new tank on the new stand (and possibly the new sand in the tank) is to fill it back up with the water and continue using my filter that I currently have. I don't want to stress the system even more by trying to implement a sump and disposing of all the substrate in one go. Then I'll start working on the sump and implement that about a month later or so, after things have settled down a little.

I know that many reefers swear by sumps, and I'm not knocking them, but will this trouble be worth it? I have no problem going through the trouble if it is. I'm just torn..I know the filter I have blows and I know I should upgrade the stand and I know I'd like a sump just because of all the good things I've been reading, but at the same time, I'm extremely lazy, haha.

I would really love any input and guidance you guys could offer. Thanks so much.
 
the reason people use sumps is because it adds extra volume to the tank and the more water you have the more stable a system you will have
 
Yeah, I know. I've read about them, a lot when I first started my tank and some refresher reading now, and especially with my small 29 (the actual volume of water probably being much less due to the rock and all) that's a definite plus, the increased water volume. I'm just wondering if you guys think all the work is worth it.


I'm anxious to set up another tank now that I know what not to do, haha. But first I want to make this one as bad-ass as possible.
 
IMO a sump on a 29g tank is nothing more than bling-bling.

It's NOT necessary. It's convenient, but not necessary.

Put a HOB refugium on the tank and get a good HOB skimmer. Some HOB refugiums come with built in skimmers. Thats a space saver.

Take out 25% of the gravel at a time. Replace it with DRY sand. Wait 2 months. Take out the next 25% section of gravel. Replace with DRY sand. Wait 2 months. Repeat. Repeat.

Or you could go bare bottom. Put a DSB in your HOB refugium. If you elect to go bare bottom with the DSB in the HOB refugium, I'd put the refugium on and fill it with LIVE sand until you have a 4" sand bed or MORE. Fill it until the sand is ready to spill over the baffles. :mrgreen: Wait about 3 months and then take out the sand in the tank.
 
Having a sump is worth it. Not only for increasing water volume, but you can remove almost all your equipment off the back of your tank! That alone is worth it.
 
Yeah, I really kind of want to do it, because while I'm lazy I really enjoy DIY projects. It'll be cool to make the new stand, fuge, HOB overflow, all that jazz.
 
rcP is dead on and so is biff. It really is a matter of opinion on this one. If you are as excited about it as you say
Yeah, I really kind of want to do it, because while I'm lazy I really enjoy DIY projects. It'll be cool to make the new stand, fuge, HOB overflow, all that jazz.
Then I say do the sump, sand, and stand.......and post picts as you go!!

Also, I may be wrong(usually) but will a 20g long fit under the stand you want to build for the 29. Reguardless do the biggest sump you can get away with.
 
Everyone has good advice posted. From my newb experience of setting up a 110 tall w/stand, my biggest mistake was setting the thing up back against a wall without putting in as big a sump as possible first. Now I'm stuck with a 10g sump because thats all I could fit through the doors on the front. So in my opinion go with the biggest sump possible and make your own baffles etc complete with fuge, area for skimmer, "all that jazz" and most importantly plan ahead before you move everything. BTW your clown should be fine from the move, mine moved 3 times in a year and never stressed. Best of luck!
 
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