Fuge/ sump?

[pat8you]

Ok so i have seen people talking about thier fuge and i have seen picture where people have like another small tank under their main that they put sand and sometimes plants and such? Is this different then a sump? In our main tank at home we had a sump under their where we kept the power heads and skimmer and filters and all that stuff. Anyone wanna shed some light on this for me?

[JoshsReef]

well here is a great place to start - Melevsreef.com - Welcome!

[Ziggy953]

The sump is the main container that houses your return pump(S), heater(s), Skimmer and any other equipment you don't want in your display. A fuge is or can be part of a sump or a stand alone tank. The purpose of a fuge is for nutrient export, in other words the Macro algae (plants) that you put in your fuge take up the nitrates and other nutrients in the water column and use them as food. Basically they help clean the water of unwanted "stuff". The fuge also serves as addittional water volume and a place for different pods and critters to mulitiply. The link that Josh gave you is where I learned all about fuges from! Great information!