Sump ?

ebess · #1 12/13/2007, 10:32 AM

How big of a sump do you need for a 75 gallon tank?

papagimp · #2 12/13/2007, 10:36 AM

I have been using a 20g long but would rather prefer something a little bigger. When it comes to sumps and refugiums, the bigger you can go, the better it will be for the tank. Heck, using a 150g sump/fuge on a 75 would be awesome, but usually space constraints will prohibit that sort of thing, measure the available room you have to work with and find the largest resevoir you can use for that space while still allowing for equpiment, room to work, electrical wiring, ect. ect.

and FWIW, I would highly highly recommend using a refugium/sump vs. just a sump. The refugium makes a world of difference.

NirvanaFan · #3 12/13/2007, 12:08 PM

The 29g sump just fits under my stand, so that is what I went with. I had to put it in on an angle and it was a little tough getting it in, but it works out very well.

luvnpc69 · #4 12/13/2007, 12:15 PM

how can i turn my sump into a refugium? i have a mega flow 3 wet/dry with the bio-balls removed

papagimp · #5 12/13/2007, 12:20 PM

Add a smidge of sand and rubble rock to give the pods a place to breed and flourish and you have a refugium. Add macro algae and a small clamp light from lowes or home depot with one of those sprial compact flourescent bulbs with a 5500-6800k spectrum and you have a macro algae growing refugium, which is even better.

Heres the lights I'm talking about, roughly $10 to setup.

Their is literally hundred and hundreds of various options to make a sump into a fuge, I listed only the bare minimum requirment and even then, that's more personal opinion. Rock alone will still give pods a place to breed/flourish but i do prefer some sand in my fuge, some/many pods will breed right around that sandbed/rockwork area. And the macro is a must have as far as i'm concerned. The benefits far outweight any disadvantages one may find.

luvnpc69 · #6 12/13/2007, 01:19 PM

won't the pods get caught in the filter sponge on the end of my return pump?

ihopss · #7 12/13/2007, 01:29 PM

Take it off.

papagimp · #8 12/13/2007, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by luvnpc69
won't the pods get caught in the filter sponge on the end of my return pump?

Yes...and then get shot back up to the display tank where they will feed livestock for you. perfectly normal. larger pods such as the grammarus shrimps are usually too large to get sucked through the sponges/pre-filters but their naupllii (babies/newborns) will easily make their way back up the display and not be damaged by the impellars in the return pump. You want pods getting caught and sucked into the return, just not all at once, but slowly as they are born and growing, a nice steady supply is what you're aiming for. Dosing phytoplankton and keeping macroalgae in the fuge will help keep pod numbers at higher levels.

luvnpc69 · #9 12/13/2007, 01:49 PM

there is also a sponge between where the skimmer is and where the return is, also the skimmer is in the same place as i would put the fuge, does that make it not worth doing?

TheOtherReefer · #10 12/13/2007, 01:58 PM

The larger the sump the better. If you can fit it under the tank then you are restricted to size limmitations. If you can place it in a remote location, then you can design your ideal setup. Cheers!!

papagimp · #11 12/13/2007, 01:58 PM

You probably should remove that sponge anyways. It's going to act as a detritus trap/nitrate factory. They should be removed with the bioballs in wet/dry filters. The only mechanical filtration i run is the prefilter on my return sponge. Occasionally i'll throw a filter sock down there for kicks, but only for a day or two at a time and not too often anymore.

AS for weather it's worth doing or not, I'd probably have to see some photo's of the sump in order to comment on that. If it's not worth converting, building a simply DIY sump/fuge is easy to do and can be accomplished with so many options and completely customizable to your setup. I've built several sump/fuges already for my various projects, all have been minimal cost expenses, and usually the projects are completed within 1/2 hour. (took about an hour the first time, cutting baffles and whatnot took me a second to learn) The DiY forums have loads of info on this as well as many DIYers tha could offer great ideas for both converting the wet/dry to a sump as well as building a new sump setup.