Sumps ??

[RICKY81]

i've been reading entries and noticed many people use sumps.?? question i have is what r they really for and is it needed, how does it benefit my tank. i have a 75gal reef tank only about 7 months old, live rock, 125gal wet/dry with bult in skimmer, and 2 #3 powerheads. i have some coral and they r doing fine. for now. anyone willing to help me out with some information. i really appreciate it. thanks ricky.

[Rychek]

Basically, a sump serves as a place to put your equipment (heater, skimmer, filters, ect.) as well a means of increasing your total water volume. It keeps the water level in the display constant and, some people, add a refugium section to the sump as well. Your wet/dry serves a very similar purpose, only a sump wouldn't have bio-balls.

[RayAllen]

Basically, a sump serves as a place to put your equipment (heater, skimmer, filters, ect.) as well a means of increasing your total water volume. It keeps the water level in the display constant and, some people, add a refugium section to the sump as well. Your wet/dry serves a very similar purpose, only a sump wouldn't have bio-balls.

perfect explanation

[Texreefer]

you say you have a 75 gal reef and a 125 gal wet/dry????

[bozack]

taggin along

Also, is there a basic rule of sump size per tank?
Let's say for a 150 gallon I have a 30 gallong sump
What about upgrading to a 200 gallon, size sump?
75 or 90 gallon? Sump recommendations?

Have always been curious.

[Texreefer]

The sump has to be big enough to hold all the overflow water,,.. lets say you have a 240 gal tank that is 48"x48"x24" and when all the pumps are turned off, 2" of water drains out of the tank,,that is 20 gals of water that will drain into the sump. you want a sump to hold about twice the volume of what drains out,, so for a 240 gal tank the MINIMUM sump size should be about 40 gals.. If you want to add a fuge, that can be any size but usually the bigger the better becuase size usually improves water quality... this is just a basic example and it will depend on how you have your tank set up as to how much water will drain from tank when turned off,, and i am by no means an expert but this works for me

[JLiu]

you say you have a 75 gal reef and a 125 gal wet/dry????
His water is pristine.

[RayAllen]

My 210g has a 30g sump with no problems

[RICKY81]

yup it a 75 gal with 125 wet/dry, the reason is i figured well i plan on upgrading later in the future so might as well just buy it bigger and besides i figured if it's bigger it will do a better job. so yea kind of award but yes that what i have.

[ErikH]

www.melevsreef.com/sumps.html (http://www.melevsreef.com/sumps.html)

that should be the right link.

[caferacermike]

125g wet/dry.......

I'm taking it to mean that whatever company is marketing it claims it to be suitable for 125g tanks. Probably around 20-30g total water volume.

Am I correct?

[BA]

ya i think your right mike, unless he has this monster wet/dry under a special built stand??

[RayAllen]

I thought it meant 125g moves through it per hour, but the pump would also contribute to that.....

[RICKY81]

oh yeah sorry about that.. no it's not 125 gal. wet/dry system. but it's suitable for up to a 125gal tank.

[RICKY81]

what is the purpose for having a refugiam. and whats the rule of thumb or size that i need for a 75 gal.

[caferacermike]

A fuge is a specific space for certain types of life form to thrive. Thee lifeforms are typically unwanted in display tanks. The purpose is to allow them to thrive out of sight with the intent to lower the amount of available nutrition to their counterparts in the display, effectively starving unwanted pests to death. You'll see people use fast growing algaes that are easy to harvest. Mangrove pods as they will leech out nutrients and store them in their leaves. Some have tried refugiums full of mussels from HEB, clams from the beach, or oysters. I've heard of several full of Xenia or Aptasia. SOme people stuff them full of bristleworms.

Others choose to add them for reasons of providing a place to grow out food items for the display tank such as copepods.

I'd say 20g is plenty of tank for a 75g. I keep my light on at 24W 24 hours a day. Doing so helps prevent a shift in CO2 generation.shutdown that can cause a sharp change in PH levels. Some run there lighting alternate to the display to keep down the costs, etc...

So in review there are no hard and fast rules. Read up on several different "theories" (as it's all just theory anyways) and decide what is right for you and what you want to experiment with.

[RICKY81]

thanks for the explanation Caferacermike about the refugium. that is really helpful and thanks for taking your time, now i suppose that the water from main display should cycle through the refuge, do u know of any website i can go to, to check out some displays.