Tips: Do You Need A Sump...?

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CaptainNegatory

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A sump is nothing more than an extra water containment area usually set up underneath an aquarium where you can place equipment, provide the aquarium with various types of water filtration, add top-off water to the tank and perform other maintenance tasks. For a more in depth explanation on what the design and function of a sump box is, Robert Metelsky explains this very well in his Simplified Reefkeeping Sump Box FAQ, where he outlines a two chambered sump. From the simple single chamber design to the more complex multi-chambered set ups, sumps are quite versatile. Just take a look at some of these DIY examples.
  • Dog's sump set up has a prefilter pad with bio ball chamber and complete live sand refugium incorporated into it.
  • Peter Z.'s sump design is three chambered, with the middle chamber containing bio-media for biological filtration.
As you can see from these few examples, there are just as many sump set ups as there are aquarists who design them, and you don't have to buy one either. Glass or acrylic aquariums and plastic containers can be converted into sumps very easily, or you can always build your own from scratch. However, for those of you that may not be do-it-yourselfer types, pre-manufactured sumps are available on the market. What are the benefits of having a sump?

  • It makes an ideal place to put a protein skimmer ( read reviews & compare prices), heater(s), and other equipment such as a calcium or nitrate reactor, because you don't to figure out inventive ways to hide all this stuff when hung on the outside or placed inside an aquarium, and it saves on space.
  • It is an ideal place to put bio-media for biological filtration, as well as perform additional mechanical and chemical filtration.
  • It is the perfect place for dosing supplements. Topping off tank water and adding limewater (a.k.a. kalkwasser/calcium) or other additives to a reef tank goes hand in hand with a sump, because one of the dosing methods most often used by aquarists for introducing limewater into the tank is done by way of the water in the sump. This is usually accomplished by using a slow drip water top-off set up, or an auto-doser or metering pump.
  • It adds additional beneficial tank water volume to your system.
  • It can provide additional aeration to your system.
  • It can contribute to improved quality of the aquarium water.
  • When set up properly, it can act as a back up water overflow system if the power fails.
  • Add the DIY Auto Top Off to your sump to eliminate the hassle of repetitive top offs.
When running a reef system, some people find that bio-media in a wet/dry trickle filter becomes unnecessary when adequate live rock is provided for biological filtration. For this reason some aquarists choose to remove the bio media and convert the trickle filter into a plain sump for holding carbon, or use it as a water reservoir/top-off area. Do you need a sump?
In our opinion it is a personal choice of whether to have a sump or not, but with the many benefits one can provide your system, along with how easy it really is to put together, why not?
Here are some more DIY Sump Projects & Plans you can use to build your own. You can also see what is available on the market in the Top Wet/Dry Filters. To learn more about how to set up a sump, refer to our Sump & Overflow Set Up Resources and take time to cruise through our Reef Tank Photo Galleries to visit personal saltwater Websites to see how other aquarists have set up sumps for their systems.

"Courtesy Of About.com"-Figured Alot Of Noobies Like Me Are Sump Stupid, So I Posted...
 
lol funny im on mfk right now looking up info on sumps and it just so happens that you just posted thx for the info
 
But are the fish better off if you had a larger tank with a couple canister filters?

For example; what is better: a 125G aquarium with a 75G sump or a 200G aquarium with canister filtration? I think the same group of fish would be "happier" in the larger tank.

....and before someone says a 200G with a 75G sump is better; let's just say, due to space and noise limitations, these two combinations are the only choices.

I understand the benefits you listed are valid but it's not enough of an advantage over a couple canisters with an in-line heater.

The biggest sump drawback for me is the noise.
 
VFC - The answer to that question is not black and white.

For example, a canister will often offer less flow than a drilled tank/undrilled w/ overflow box and a sump, as the pumps used for sumps generally offer more GPH than even a high flowing canister. Even a FX5 that offers 965 GPH flow will realistically see considerably less flow when head loss and loss from forcing water through the media in a closed is taken into consideration. This is the reason that many people rely on multiple canisters and/or HOB filters on big tanks, where as a single sump does the job nicely. More flow = higher turn over rate = better filtration.

Additionally, depending on the sump filter setup and the type of canister, this can also make a difference. Wet/dry sumps and wet/dry canister fliters will offer better biological filtration than a standard sealed canister or submersed media sump.
 
A big advantage a canister has over a sump, is that a sump only draws water from the surface, where a canister can draw water (and waste) from the bottom of a tank.

BTW - There is no head loss in a closed loop canister. However, there is head loss with a sump.

P2121296.JPG
 
vfc;3935286; said:
A big advantage a canister has over a sump, is that a sump only draws water from the surface, where a canister can draw water (and waste) from the bottom of a tank.

BTW - There is no head loss in a closed loop canister. However, there is head loss with a sump.
Click to expand...

VFC you are wrong on both.

Many drilled tanks (such as Perfecto Cornerflow and AGA/Aqueon Megaflow systems) have holes at different levels of the overflow or front panels that allow water to be drawn from different levels of the tank. These systems skim water from the bottom and mid levels of the aquarium.

And there most certainly is head loss in a canister filter. Any pump that is pumping water vertically suffers from head loss.

http://www.engineersedge.com/fluid_flow/head_loss.htm
 
The holes along the sides of a overflow are draining only a small percentage of the flow; the majority comes from the surface.

Head loss from tube friction is far less than from gravity. Canisters do not have head loss from gravity; sumps do.
 
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