sump for my 20 gallon tank

[sansouci01]

My 20 gallon tank is looking a little crowded with filter,heater, skimmer. I would rather see my tank instead of all the equipment. I was thinking about building a 10 gallon sump inside the cabinet under the tank. I was doing some reading and it sounds like a big job to build one with all the different baffles and chambers. Do I really need all of that? Can't it be just a simple tank with a return pump or are all those things necessary?

 

[Ingy]

They aren't necessary, they just make it more effective. I only have 2 chambers in my sump, with the second one being the return section.
The disadvantage of not having at least one set of baffles is the bubbles formed by the skimmer will likely migrate into the tank as micro bubbles. Gives the water a dirty look as you can see the tiny bubbles.


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[Flaxon-Waxon]

Id say the biggest advantage of having at least a separate return section would be easily seeing evaporation amounts and a steady water level for your protein skimmer for best tuning and performance...