Using my 10 gallon aquarium for a sump

[heerism]

I want to use my 10 gallon aquarium as my sump for my 40 gallon sw tank, is this a good idea?

 

[darb2]

it is a decent size. if it is an old tank clean it out well.

 

[noone]

how would you go about turning a tank into a sump. (future reference)

 

[ellisz]

how would you go about turning a tank into a sump. (future reference)

Have the main tank drain into the 10 gal and then put a pump in the 10 gal to feed the water back into the main tank. Now it is a sump

You could add a skimmer or other equipment but you don't have too.

 

[swiftwing7]

what do you put in the sump filters lr etc? also could you have a fuge in the sump or would you have to have another seperate tank for that?

 

[malkore]

correct me if i'm wrong, but I think a fuge IS a sump, with all the wildlife added to make it a fuge.

 

[swiftwing7]

just wanted to know if you could do both of them together

 

[TygGer]

Yes, you could partition a section of the sump to become the fuge. Do a search on "sump" and you will get a ton of info.

 

[fishfreek]

WE have a good article on sumps in the article area. A fuge is simply an aquarium thats dedicated to a specific purpose. Be that growing macro algae, or other wildlife. With a sump the size of 10 gal I would really shy away from making a part of that a refuge. You will be much beter served having a 5 or 10 gal refuge and a 10 gal sump.

Your sump can be as complex (with dividers and seperate sections) or as simple (just a box with water going in and out) as you want/need it to be.