Would a sump be worth it?

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a sump. It offers too many pluses, and if properly researched and implemented, few cons. Big plus, it adds water volume to your system, it is a place to hide equiptment, it allows more flexibility in filtration choices, a place to jail bully fish, and more. The only real con I see is that it requires space under or near the tank.
Some tips for adding a sump; 1. before you do ANYTHING research very well and decide what kind of system you want, first. 2. Drill the tank. Don't rely on a siphon overflow...it is a flood waiting to happen (and I'm aware there are some very good siphon overflows available, but personally, I'd never rely on one again) 3. Use a multi-drain system as a safety precaution...if one drain gets blocked, the other drains will handle the flow and the tank will not overflow. I highly recommend you search 'BeanAnimal Silent & Failsafe Overflow' I use this on my 37 saltwater tank and am very pleased with it...it is absolutely silent, runs a phenomenal amount of water through the sump (if desired), and, gives me complete peace of mind regarding flooding. If you are on a budget, you can drill and build your own system for very little outlay.

Here are a couple pics of my tank when I first finished it.


That's my reef tank right after I got water into it.


This shows the small inside overflow, the drilled holes for water to flow through to the outside mounted drainbox with the BeanAnimal style drain system. I use a 20g long tank for my sump with one glass divider.

I just recently went to sumps. Added one to my 29 with a DIY overflow - never had a problem. I also started my new 90 with a sump and incorporated filter bags as well. Way way way much easier to maintain. Check the albums in my profile for pics and some design drawings.

cwj108 said:

Those pics in your album look awesome! Is your 90 Gal a DIY Overflow as well, I couldnt really tell

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Thank you. My 90 came pre-drilled - 1.5" drain and 1" return.

cwj108 said:

Also, would a simple float switch shut off eliminate the problem of the tank flooding in the event you loose siphon?

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Since my tank is pre-drilled, I don't have to worry about losing syphon in the overflow (gravity drain). I also added a spray bar when I built out the return that runs right at the waterline which breaks syphon on the return side. So, when power goes out, I only get about 3-4" of water rise in my sump. However, I still want to add a float switch to shut off the pump in case the drain gets clogged, and my sump gets pumped dry - mainly to protect the pump. There's probably enough room left in the tank to absorb the volume of the sump should that senario ever happen (note to self - I should test this just to be sure)