10 gal sump or refug

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daney90

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
May 8, 2012
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Location
Toronto, Canada
Hi, I'm new to this hobby and I've been reading articles for quite a while now. (I love reading!! LOL) I have a 55 gal tank as my soon to be reef tank. Right now there is nothing in the tank because I'm still cycling my 80lbs base rock in the rubbermaid bin that I have.

I'm having a dilemma here because I know most aquarist would say that a bigger sump is really important. However, the stand I have doesn't allow me to have a sump bigger than a 10gal. 10gal sump/refug is too tiny as what I have read. So, I'm thinking of two options here: to use that 10gal tank as a sump with just a skimmer no refug or get a HOB skimmer and use that 10 gal tank as a refug.



-daney
 
You should think about just a scrubber like sniperhank suggested if you only have room for a 10 gallon.
 
I'm just getting into the hobby and I'm really familiar how to an algae scrubber. Anyone tried doing it on a 10 gal?
 
It can be done on a 10g. It's just harder.

With a 10g sump have you thought about just 1 compartment with live rock rubble and a HOB skimmer to use on the sump? That way all your equipment would fit inside it. If you can fit an in-sump skimmer in the 10g with your heater and return pump, so much the better....but if space is tight, a HOB on the sump might be a good idea.
 
AquaRick said:
It can be done on a 10g. It's just harder.

With a 10g sump have you thought about just 1 compartment with live rock rubble and a HOB skimmer to use on the sump? That way all your equipment would fit inside it. If you can fit an in-sump skimmer in the 10g with your heater and return pump, so much the better....but if space is tight, a HOB on the sump might be a good idea.

Hey Rick, yes, I have thought about a HOB skimmer on a 10gal sump and most people would get aquaC but so far I have been the reviews of the product that I have read was not so great. And yes I agree with you on putting everything ie heater, skimmer and a little fuge maybe in the sump.
 
Just food for thought... I currently have a 60 gallon drilled tank which flows into a 10 gallon baffle-less sump. Iike you I can't fit anything wider than a 10 gal. My water drains directly into a filter dock and the "sump" houses my coralife 125 super slimmer and my TLF phosban reactor and return pump.

I have crystal clear water... Perfect levels and no micro bubbles.
 
If you have somebody to help you make a simple algae turf scrubber, then go in that direction. If you feel like you are a handy person, then its a simple project to complete. If built properly, it will significantly help your water quality.

I'd urge you to get an in-sump skimmer since they are so much more effective than HOB skimmer. Nevertheless, any skimmer will help, but I'm just saying you want the best bang for your buck. Then get a filter sock at the drain line.

After getting the three above, you shouldn't need anything else as a requirement. If you build it perfectly the first time, then your long-term success rate as a hobbyist is a lot better.
 
daney90 said:
Hey Rick, yes, I have thought about a HOB skimmer on a 10gal sump and most people would get aquaC but so far I have been the reviews of the product that I have read was not so great. And yes I agree with you on putting everything ie heater, skimmer and a little fuge maybe in the sump.

If you can't fit an in-sump skimmer, reef octopus makes great hob skimmers. Much better than the aquaC remoras.
 
LOL, hey now, I really really liked my aqua C remora, did an excellent job on my tanks. :-D

My opinion, for what it's worth, is to go with the 10g sump and use a filter sock, and an in sump skimmer. i would pass on the refugium and/or scrubber.

I have a similar issue with my 60g cube, I needed a sump that wasnt over 23 inches so what I did was get a 16g tank which holds 50% more water which is a good thing I might add. I currently have an eshopps psk 150 and a biopellet reactor going in the 16g sump as well as a small filter sock to catch the floaties from the tank. :) Also, to use an in sump skimmer you usually need to have maybe 7-9 inches of water for it to run.....in a 10g that would put you at the top of the tank and not allow much room for water from the main tank when you shut down the system.

Just some more food for thought!

Good luck!
 
I'm glad you're getting good use out of AquaC's products! I'm not a fan of their customer service though. Had an issue with one of their remoras and the communication breakdown left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
Ahh i see now. Luckily I had no issues with the actual product so I never needed to contact them. But the product in my opinion was well built and looked pretty nice on my tank. lol I got it when looks was the priority, I didnt want an ugly hanging on skimmer. hehe.... I'm such a girl sometimes....
 
thanks yall for your feedback. I really appreciate it :)

Thanks for tossing that idea too Carey! :) I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm just going to get filter sock and an in-sump skimmer. I have read threads about using an octopus DNWB-11, what do you guys think?
 
daney90 said:
thanks yall for your feedback. I really appreciate it :)

Thanks for tossing that idea too Carey! :) I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm just going to get filter sock and an in-sump skimmer. I have read threads about using an octopus DNWB-11, what do you guys think?


I'm a huge fan of the reef octos. Great product and good customer service ime.

The dnwb110 is a recirculating skimmer. It needs another separate pump to prime/feed it. It's useful if youre keeping it as an external skimmer.

For your needs I'd go with the NWB160. If you have the $, the octo extreme xs 160 is even better. Using it on my 60g cube. The xs 160 is quieter than the nwb160 and pulls out more gunk.
 
Octo extreme xs 160 looks over kill to my 55gal reel tank, LOL.

I think I'll go with the NWB160 since I'm having 80lbs of LR. :)
 
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