sump

[midnighttoker]

I wanted to add a sump for my 40g reef. What would you suggest rubbermade, fish tank, or a Brand name? Are Euroreef sump with sock for mechanical filtration any good? One more question for those with a sump, what designs would you do differetly if you were to create a new sump? I know that for my tank, I only need a 10 gal sump, I was thinking of getting a larger sump but only filling it with about 10 gal of water so the surface area will be greater and maybe have a fan blow on top of the water to keep the temp down.

[naser]

ive got a 15 gallon sump.. made small to fit my stand. i dont ven use any mechanical filtering. i noticed with using that type of sock filter even cleaning every week never got my nitrates to go down. got rid of it all together and whamo all better. by getting a bigger or longer sump you can have a refugium.

[waterloomarc]

I'm using a 20 gallon fish tank myself, but a lot of others use the simple rubbermaid tubs from Walmart etc. These are quite cheap and are easy to drill and customize for your needs. I would be concerned about baffling them though, I don't know how hard it would be considered they will box when filled.

-Marc

[midnighttoker]

Thank you for the suggestions. I decided to buy a 18gal sterlite from walmart it was only $3. I could not think of a way to put baffles in it so just for now, I place the return pump inside a filter sox so tiny bubbles will not be pump into my tank. Has anyone found a way to place baffles inside plastic containers?

[waterloomarc]

I don't know how to get baffles to stay in those containers either. Some people have had success with eliminating bubbles in the sump by having the overflow feed into a bucket inside the sump. This forced the bubbles up the walls of the bucket to the top, rather than allowing them to disperse to the rest of the sump....and your pump.

Just a suggestion, I don't know how satisfied you are with yor filter sock arrangement. The bucket is definitely a cheap solution though, and doesn't need to be changed as often as a filter sock ;)

-Marc