Wet/dry/sump questions... several!!

Scubafly

Reefing newb
Hey everyone!

New member, first post! Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

I have a 90 gallon fish and live rock tank with a Fluval 404 canister filter and a HOB protein skimmer that I have gotten weary of looking at as the pump AND the "bubble diffuser are incredibly obtrusive IN the tank... thinking, well, planning actually, on upgrading to a sump setup... now for the questions...

1) These things are pricey! For what seems to be little more than an acrylic box... are they worth the price, or can you make one yourself with an aquarium of suitable size? And why are the "drain kits" so expensive for what seems to be 10 bucks worth of plumbing from Home Depot?? Is the tubing an odd size, or some sort of special "aquarium grade" plastic??

2) Any recommendations on certain brands?? (Eshopps, Berliner, Marineland, Megaflow??) Favorite pump manufacturers?? (Quiet One, Maxi-Jet??)

3) One of the things I like about the canister filter is that a power outage does not create a problem... it will just start right back up when the power comes back on... will a sump set up be as friendly??

4) I am most interested to get all of the equipment (Heater, protein skimmer hardware, pH probe, temp probes etc...) OUT of the aquarium and into a sump.... will this all create a heat problem in the confined space under the aquarium in the stand??

5) I have never had problems with my water chemistry... I just abide by a few basic rules (start with RO water, change 10% every week, don't overfeed, good lighting...) and am a little concerned that switching filtration systems might cause an unforseen problem... should I run the new WITH the old for a month or so till the new media builds up a bacterial bed??

Thanks again! Any information from the experienced would be very helpful!
 
Welcome to The Reef!

1- Yes, you can easily make your own out of a 10g (or any other size you can fit under your stand) tank. Drain kits? Do you mean for a predrilled tank? If so, you can just buy pvc from HD or Lowes...but I would not recommend drilling the bottom of your tank as it is most likely tempered glass and will shatter if you try to drill it. The predrilled "Reef Ready" tank have the bottom drilled, then the glass is tempered at the factory.

2- Eshopps makes a fine, dependable hang on tank overflow box. There are lots of good return pumps. Quiet One, Mag and Eheim work fine.

3- A properly setup HOB overflow will not have any problems if the power goes out and comes back on when your not around. I used 1 for over 15 yrs and never had any issues.

4- 1 of the nice things about a sump is you CAN have all your equipment in it to keep it out of sight. I don't see heat from any of that equipment being an issue.

5- Yes, that wouldn't hurt and it will probably help while the bacteria is being built up in the sump.
 
I agree with the above... If set up right, a sump is a benifit to your system, it adds to the total volume of the water, thus making changes happen slower... Not to mention that most all of the canister filters that i have seen up till now require expensive media, and regular attention, but with a sump, once its set up, theres really very little that needs to be done to it...

just as a side note, for your return pump, you can go with a big name, but i recently found out that harbor freight sells a line of pumps that they say is aquarium safe... i have a few of them in my tank and i just ordered thier big one(1500gph) to be my new return pump... so far, i havent had one fail on me yet, but i have had 2 new from the box rio's die on me...
 
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Hey Larry,

Thanks for the great info... I will google search for plans on making my own and start comparing the costs, taking into account how quickly the seemingly "simple" things can get beyond my frustration threshold.

Another quick question... I have had the suggestion of going online for USED equipment also... I am very reluctant to do that for fear of introducing some unseen, malevolent creature(s) into my thriving tank, just to be forced to sit back and watch everything mysteriously die off... am I being paranoid?? A USED filter just doesn't shound like a good idea (unless I knew the tank it came from of course).

Thanks again for the thorough response!

Kurt
 
Thanks Project5K

Also, I was planning to slowly start adding corals, so I am definitely interested in increasing the water flow, exposure to filtration and oxygen content... certainly seems to be the way to go.

And I will check out Harbor Freight, thanks!

Kurt
 
You have no worries with used equipment, except it not working. You're not going to get hitch hikers coming in that way. You should always clean equipment before you use it, and most equipment is very easy to clean.

For a lot of us, buying used is the only option we have since new stuff can be very pricey. If your goal is to save money, definitely look into buying used stuff. If saving money is not a priority, then by all means buy new.

Sumps are super easy to build yourself. If I can do it, anyone can!! :)
 
Oh, and the "drain kit" seems to be the return lines delivering the water back to the tank... or from the overflow box to the tank? Most all the sump filters I have seen advertised list the requirements for a "drain kit," overflow box, and "appropriately sized return pump." Why they don't just package this stuff, is a mystery to me... however, I do not have a predrilled tank, and will use an overflow box... my next tank will be acrylic and predrilled!
 
Thanks Bifferwine

I will look into it! I DID find a nice predrilled 125 gallon acrylic aquarium WITH a stand AND filtration for less than I had expected to pay for a new filter! Going used could be dangerous, but fun!
 
All the extra stuff like drain kit and pump do not come pre-packaged, because they will vary based on the size of the tank, size of the sump, what kind of animals you keep, etc. Every sump will be set up differently, so you wouldn't be able to package a pump and drain kit that will meet everyones' needs.

For your next tank -- skip acrylic. It's a pretty bad decision in this hobby. It scratches so easily and looks like crap after a short amount of time. Just get a pre-drilled glass tank instead.
 
Thanks again Bifferwine!

I had heard that acrylics were tough to keep looking clear.... that bad eh?? Well, good, cause the glass is cheaper anyway... thanks for the advice!
 
What makes acrylic so bad for a reef tank,is there isnt any way to get the coralline off the front without scratching it up.
Just go throu out DIY forums for sump plans.You'll find all kinds of plans and designs in there.
 
yea and if you need help with a sump design or setting it up, just let us know, someone on here will help you out.. i've even had lengthy phone conversations with people about setting them up and what not...

the main thing is to not guess, if your not sure, just ask, it could end up saving the lives of your fishies! :)
 
Thanks Project5 and Yote! I will be looking into new, used and DIY as options... I may be posting again soon for added guidance... I appreciate the offer!
 
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