Alternatives To A Sump?

[Blacksnake1986]

I have been planning on setting up a 29 gallon tank I have for a reef tank with a few begginers corals nothing fancy just trying to ease into the hobby been talking to some of u guys on a sump build but wife dont like the idea of the big homemade sump setting under the tank. So i been looking at canister filters I dont see any downfalls to them looks like they would provide more filtration that a wet dry with just bioballs. Figures i would get one of the fulval 205's it is rated at 180gph and for up to 40g tank. I figure id compensate with 2 to 3 powerheads in the tank for water movement what do you think?

[Parrothead]

first off, we don't use bio balls in our sumps, they become nitrate factories....

for a reef tank the benefits of having a sump are increased water volume - aids in keeping the tank stable; an area to create a fuge to keep cheato - helps remove nutrients from the system; aids in the gas exchange due to increased water movement, again helps maintain pH and keeps the tank more stable; the overflow box, home made or otherwise, skims the waters surface removing the oil slickish looking film that develops on the waters surface, these benefits are just touching the surface of the iceberg for reasons to have a sump.

Have the wife do a little reading and she will see the benefits to having a sump, and how it will aid in having a much more stable and eye candy looking tank.

Good Luck, took me months to convince my wife that I had to have one

[Original Fin]

[QUOTE=Parrothead;229249

...Good Luck, took me months to convince my wife that I had to have one[/QUOTE]

Haha! Sumps do seem to have a low wife acceptance factor. After you get her over the initial sticker shock, you still have to explain how the benefits greatly outweigh the fact that it's a smelly, ugly, intrusive, and potentially risky system to manage. Ok, so I'm not helping am I?
I'm new to the hobby too, and as a noob I've made some obvious mistakes. Of course, my wife sees this, so now whenever I mention that I'd like to change/add something, she raises an eyebrow. for me, It's helped to include her (as much as she wants to be included) in my research. Be warned, however, that if you never shut up about all your "fish" stuff, you may simply bore her to tears. Good thing we have our forums so we can bore strangers instead!

Here's an easy win...take the family on a LFS hopping trip. If you have little ones, all the better! Take them first, to the most reputable specialty reef shop around. Be sure to point out all the equipment, and what it's there for, or better yet, ask the LFS employees to explain it. Follow up by going to one of the big pet chain stores. Point out the differences in equipment and livestock...which ones looked more healthy/happy? Now, try to find an employee and ask them about how their equipment is set up, and why. Usually, as soon as they open their mouths, it will become obvious that they are more fish mongers than aquarists, and that will go a long way to winning back some credibilty for you.
Good luck!

[Blacksnake1986]

Do u have to have a gravity siphon feed to your sump or could u use a powerhead pump to feed the sump? Just curius seems like it would be safer as u would not have to worry about overflow of the sump or tank when the power went out as when it came back on the powerhead and pump in sump would both come back on.

[Original Fin]

Do u have to have a gravity siphon feed to your sump or could u use a powerhead pump to feed the sump? Just curius seems like it would be safer as u would not have to worry about overflow of the sump or tank when the power went out as when it came back on the powerhead and pump in sump would both come back on.

I think that would greatly complicate the matter of matching flow rates between the overflow and return pump. If you haven't already, check out Melev's Reef explanation of sump design Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

[Original Fin]

Do u have to have a gravity siphon feed to your sump or could u use a powerhead pump to feed the sump? Just curius seems like it would be safer as u would not have to worry about overflow of the sump or tank when the power went out as when it came back on the powerhead and pump in sump would both come back on.

I'm not sure I follow your idea...when you lost power, the sump "feed" pump would shut off, that's true, but flow would not stop because you'd still have a siphon going regardless. It would continue until the display tank water level fell lower than the inlet pipe, depending on where you position it, you may or may not end up flooded anyway.
Assuming the inlet was at a high enough level in the display not to flood your sump, you'd still have a problem when power came back on, becase that pump would be starting dry, and you could burn it up. Now the return pump would flood the display tank, so either way, probably not a safer way to go.

[Parrothead]

I'm not sure I follow your idea...when you lost power, the sump "feed" pump would shut off, that's true, but flow would not stop because you'd still have a siphon going regardless. It would continue until the display tank water level fell lower than the inlet pipe, depending on where you position it, you may or may not end up flooded anyway.
Assuming the inlet was at a high enough level in the display not to flood your sump, you'd still have a problem when power came back on, becase that pump would be starting dry, and you could burn it up. Now the return pump would flood the display tank, so either way, probably not a safer way to go.

that is why on the return line you have a siphon break(small hole in line) just below the waters surface, this way should the power fail, water only back siphons till it reaches the siphon break, and viola it stops, as for when the power kicks back on the level in the sump is suff. to keep the return pump from running dry, as for the over flow make or buy one that doesn't lose it's siphon, look at the cpr cs line with the aqualifter pump, or the design that was posted in the diy forum here, I read through a 23 page thread in a UK forum on this and no one had any siphon problems

using a pump is basically a closed loop system, you do not get the water/air exchange that you would get with a sump. JMHO