Setting up my reef tank again.

[jbjints]

My tank has been disconnected now for about a year, I had my house dormered and had absolutely no place to keep it setup so i had no choice but to disconnect it.

I am going to head to the local fish store to buy myself a return pump, my pump no longer works.

I wanted to know if anyone had any recommendations on maybe something I could do now since I have the tank disconnected. I am using a hang in the back sump (Reef Aquarium I think), 2-3 inch sand bed, oh yes my tank is 40 gallon, not sure what other information is needed.

I will be setting my tank up in my cellar, I've always thought that a cellar is ideal for any tank, now is my chance to set it up once and right.

Any information would be much appreciated, keep in mind that I don't really have a ton of cash to spend on my tank at the moment, just wanted to get it going again is all.

[Reefland]

When you say "hang on the back sump" are you referring to a hang on the back filtration system that includes the protein skimmer and typically some bio-balls or other media? If so, you may want to save a bit of money and get yourself and regular sump (can be an inexpensive 10gal aquarium) and a overflow box. This will increase you overall water volume as well as give you more options for future expansion.

You can typically find an overflow box for $80 or so and then all you need is a $10 10gal aquarium and the return pump, which you have to get any ways. A little MAG 5 would do very nice for that size system. Also if your going to go for a sand bed, you should consider 4"+ for optimum performance (if you can say that).

I hope this helps you out but would be happy to help some more if I can.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[jbjints]

Thank you very much for replying. I currently have a US Aquarium hang on the back filter with a built in skimmer, you think I should get rid of this and use a regular sump instead? Is there by any chance a guide on building this type of system? Is there any drilling involved? Is a seperate proten skimmer then needed?

I may also take you up on your offer of helping me set my tank up, I am sure I will have questions considering it's been so long since I've had my tank up and running.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[Reefland]

The skimmers in those aren't the most efficient since they typically use an airstone. Venturi or "injection" skimmers are much more effective at removing DOC's.

The advantage of a sump is the extra water volume and a good place to put a nice skimmer, heaters and a good return pump which adds to your circulation. Having a sump also allows for easier expansion; if you decide you want a refugium getting one hooked up would be easier.

Having the tank drilled is a better option but not always doable so overflow boxes come into play. Lifereef makes a nice set-up and CPR makes one as well. Some concerns with them are when the power goes out so make sure you get one that is a "Continuos Syphon Overflow" which should keeps it's syphon during a power outage. If your a handy person there are some nice DIY plans out there. Along with these plans you can find many plans to getting your system hooked up with a sump; if you need some help finding one let me know.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[jbjints]

I had my return pump repaired and it's ready to rock but due to some other construction on my house my tank won't be setup for a little longer. I want to set my tank up again in my basement but I want to make sure that I set it once and not move it 10 times, making sure the area has enough outlets and room before I set it.

The following day I called to get a price on a overflow box and the clerk who repaired my pump must've remembered my voice and he knew who he was speaking to. What he said was that since my tank was "only" a 40 gallon tank that I didn't need a sump and that my US Aquarium hang on the back filter was more than adequate.

I respect your opinion and just about every poster on your boards that I would like to install the sump and even before I disconnected my tank I wanted to build a sump but I ways thought that I would have no idea on how to build one so I didn't.

If you feel that a 10 gallon-sump would be better for my tank and that they aren't to difficult to build then I will go ahead and build one, keep in mind I am not scared of challenges either, I don't want you to think that if it was difficult to build a sump that I'd walk away from the idea, I am willing to whatever it takes to better my tank.

I have some time to play with, I am very, very excited to start up my tank again but between construction on my house and the desire to set my tank once in the best possible place has forced me to take it slow and I believe I am making the right decision.

After that long post I am basically asking should I or shouldn't I build a sump for my tank?

Thanks In Advance,

Joe

P.S. The clerk also said "I would never recemmond anyone having a sump unless his or her tank is at least 55 gallons". I disagree but I could also be wrong.

[Reefland]

The following day I called to get a price on a overflow box and the clerk who repaired my pump must've remembered my voice and he knew who he was speaking to. What he said was that since my tank was "only" a 40 gallon tank that I didn't need a sump and that my US Aquarium hang on the back filter was more than adequate.

I have some time to play with, I am very, very excited to start up my tank again but between construction on my house and the desire to set my tank once in the best possible place has forced me to take it slow and I believe I am making the right decision.

After that long post I am basically asking should I or shouldn't I build a sump for my tank?

P.S. The clerk also said "I would never recemmond anyone having a sump unless his or her tank is at least 55 gallons". I disagree but I could also be wrong.

Yeah leave it to a LFS cleark to say that. I would absolutely install a sump, simply for the reasons I listed above. If anything, adding them to a smaller system is more desireable as it adds to the overall water volume. The more water you have in your total system, the more stable your water parameters will be and the healthier your animals will be.

Adding one to your system will not be all that difficult, as long as you have the overflow box. Here are a couple of links to some that are reasonably priced and have a decent reputation:

The Lifereef Prefilter Overflow Box:
http://www.lifereef.com/retail.html#siphon

Here is a CPR Overflow from Aquatic Eco-Systems, one of our sponsors:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/aquatic1v1...assitemid=6815

This will take the water from your tank to your sump, which again can be a simple 10 gallon aquarium or complex, expensive acrylic built filtration system that includes a protein skimmer, CA Reactor and more. If you use a standard size aquarium and plan to run high flow through it (1000 gph) then you will want to include some baffles in it just prior to the return pump to remove micro bubbles. Do a search for baffles to find all the information you need about that.

Lastly you get you a nice return pump (MAG Drives are great), plumb it up over the back of your tank and your all set. You have added at least 5 gallons of water capacity to your tank, given yourself the ability to move all of your misc. equipment out of the tank (heaters, thermometers, etc.) and made it easy to add new items to your tank (powerful protein skimmers, CA Reactors, etc.).

Obviously the largest additional cost you will have is to purchase a new protein skimmer but I'll tell you, thezookeeper has a nice one for sale in the For Sale forum that would do you up nice!

Regards,
Scott Z.

[jbjints]

Any good sites on building a 10 galllon sump? I was going to build myself Snailman's 3" counter current skimmer, think I'd be better off purchasing zoo's skimmer?

I am sorry for the many questions, I pretty much have no clue on how to build a sump. I'll do some searching on the site. Thanks for your help, I'd like to say that my questions are done but I have a good feeling I'll need some more help from you.

Joe

[Reefland]

Yeah sure, if your pretty handy, they are fairly easy to construct; heck the overflows are too. I'll post some links to plans for both the sump and overflow sense you already have the plans for the skimmer:

Here is a site I found that has plans for both an overflow and a sump:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/design.html
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/overflow.html


Scott Z.

[jbjints]

I've decided to slow down and hopefully do this the right way. For the time being I am going to set my tank up with my US Aquarium Filter and gradually build my sump and my protein skimmer, think this is a good idea and will it be a problem for my tank when I do make the switch?