Hi new to this fish thing but all my fish are happy and in good health i am wanting to start up a 200 gallon i have a 30 gal and a 75 gal now what i need to know is a sump the best way to go or is there a better way im not sure how a sump works and what all you may need it will be a fresh water tank for the fish in the 75 gal. the 75 will be a salt water tank for my girl.. any help please....
sumps work the best for big bio loads. Give us more info and we can help with your situation, what kind, size, and amount of fish. If you have one guppy in that 200 a HOB could work, but a couple of O's or peacock bass you will need a sump and maybe a large canister also.
I have bala sharks which are 4.5 in and 2 silver tipped sharks with are 6in and 2 jade gobbies that are 4 and 5 in one rainbow shark that is 3in two bichirs that are 6in and a pleco which is 5in my tank wont go up for a few months. I have a few more fish i want to get... but i must wait. so if i use a sump what size do i use and how do you set it up and do i have to drill the tank or can i by pass that... my fish are in a 75 gallon right now.... right know i only have the tank. i just need to know what to do.
your such a canister filter fan boy -_- IME, ever since my first sump build, i would never go back to using canisters as my main filtration. now sumps are my mane filtration and canisters are my supplimental filtration. check out the DIY (filters) section, you will find most of your answers there and some good ideas.
Sumps are worth it everytime, far nicer just not as user friendly when you first get into them. but if you want ease of use fluvial fx5. I wouldnt buy any other canister filter, but i still swear by sumps!!
Bulkheads or overflow boxs [depend if you want to drill your tank]
Filter socks
Silicone
tons of biomedia
heater
Spraybar
Red are optional, I'm just listing down what my sump consist of.
How sump works
Basically sump works by overflow. When your return pump pumps water from your sump back up to your main tank, the water level in your main tank will raise until a point where it overflows. Either through your overflow boxs or a pipe directly drilled and plumped into your tank. Hence this endless cycle goes on and on.
Water which overflows and flow down your sump usually hits the mechanical filtration first. Usually filter socks or filter pads. The reason sumps are able to handle a larger bioload than any canister like eheim 2262 or FX5 is obvious. The space in the sump is so much larger than in canister.
Bonus feature include ease of replacing mechanical filters (i just swap my filter socks instead of taking 20min to dismantle my FX5). Placement of additional equipments like reactors, heater.
Or just buy the Aqueon model 4 sump or the Marineland sump. Easy set up and it comes with instrutions. I have built two and bought one, building one is cheeper but time consuming and you need to understand them, also fun!!
