I'm setting up a few tanks for fry and not sure if I want to set up a sump system or not. I have a rack I built last year with tanks that isn't being used so going to start with this and expand as needed.My goal is to have a place to put my cichlid fry for a a month or so before I move them to grow out tanks.
The rack will hold 9 ten gallon tanks if I set them up a separate tanks with sponge filters in each. This is how I had the tanks setup before when I was doing shrimp and livebearers but honestly water changing was a pain so that is the main reason I'm rethinking it.
If I use the rack with a central sump I can have 8 ten gallon tanks and a 25 gallon as the sump. I will remove one of the bottom tanks and set the sump in the floor. Doing it this way will take less than $100 and 5-6 hours so not a big deal. I would still put sponge filters in every tank but put the heater and additional filters in the sump. I could put a ball valve on the system to drain everything fast and this would save a lot of time with water changes so i can do it 3 or 4 times a week. Having the larger amount of water would make the system more stable and save me from having to heat each tank. But my only worry is having fry sucked into the sump system, but not sure if that is even worth worrying about.
No matter which way I go I won't be using all the tanks to start, I'm thinking 2-4 tanks but I want room to grow as needed.
So what do you think is it worth it to make a central sump or not?
The rack will hold 9 ten gallon tanks if I set them up a separate tanks with sponge filters in each. This is how I had the tanks setup before when I was doing shrimp and livebearers but honestly water changing was a pain so that is the main reason I'm rethinking it.
If I use the rack with a central sump I can have 8 ten gallon tanks and a 25 gallon as the sump. I will remove one of the bottom tanks and set the sump in the floor. Doing it this way will take less than $100 and 5-6 hours so not a big deal. I would still put sponge filters in every tank but put the heater and additional filters in the sump. I could put a ball valve on the system to drain everything fast and this would save a lot of time with water changes so i can do it 3 or 4 times a week. Having the larger amount of water would make the system more stable and save me from having to heat each tank. But my only worry is having fry sucked into the sump system, but not sure if that is even worth worrying about.
No matter which way I go I won't be using all the tanks to start, I'm thinking 2-4 tanks but I want room to grow as needed.
So what do you think is it worth it to make a central sump or not?
