75 gallon stand build

[myhouseisazoo]

Do you guys perfer sump over filter? what is the difference? i dont quite understand the sump part yet besides that its another tank used for filtration. are they hard to build? i have an 75 gallon that i wanted to set up with some cichlids. Should i use a sump?

sumps when built properly and maintained make for crystal clear water. the only downside is setting up how your water gets to the filter you built. if you have a drilled overflow like mine you have to do more regular vacuuming of your substrate because things settle before making it to the filter. and if you set up a siphon you have to worry about failsafes in case of power outs so your whole tank doesn't siphon out and over flow your sump tank. it can be done but takes extra planning. now your sump tank can be as simple or a complicated as you want but essentially all your doing is making it so you have a larger volume of water and tons of biological filtration. my sump has a drip box at the top with a sponge, filter floss, and a carbon pad(in that order). then the water goes through a s*$& ton of dish scrubbies which is set up in a wet/dry configuration( scrubbies partially submerged). then lastly you need a pump to move enough water to keep everything flowing. im running a nine star ns980 pump. its really quiet and runs at 2000 lph (litres per hour) on 35 watts and can handle up to 2.5m of head ( height from pump to outlet into tank). im using the flex hose from a fluval 105 and the outlet fittings from that pump as well to feed the tank from the pump. let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[camaroguy422]

the stand looks great, im actually in the middle of a build now but im using pressure treated just for the fact that a normal grade 2x4 overtime is going to shrink as the water in the wood drys and pressure treated wont, so although the build costs and xtra 20 in lumber i know the wood isnt going to shrink or twist or move from where it is now, and it is structurally stronger