Sump size?

[CichlidFreak425]

M about to start a 75 gallon reef, and I want to do a sump filter.. I have 2 useable skimmers(not sure what kind). What size sump should I do?

 

[Mrc8858]

Bigger the better with 20 longs being the minimum imo. I would try and do a 40 breeder for a 75 personally.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Okay. I have a 55 that jus sitting an doing nothing. Should I use that..?

 

[Mrc8858]

If you can get it under the 75 go for it .. I know of people running larger Sumps then their DT so you can't go to big lol

 

[obscurereef]

Or make a stand for it and put it next to the DT and have it more as a refugium if you don't mind the look!

 

[CichlidFreak425]

I'm building a stand for it. Bc my brother is gonna use the current stand for a 95. And I don't trust the stand for all that weight... And what is a Refugium...

 

[Mrc8858]

Or make a stand for it and put it next to the DT and have it more as a refugium if you don't mind the look!

This is kinda my plan for my plywood tank. To allow for more room in filtration I am gonna have a 2' wide cabinet with shelving ontop of it on either side of the tank so my DT will be 6' but my entire stand/unit will be 10' to use up the whole wall but keep weight down

 

[Mrc8858]

I'm building a stand for it. Bc my brother is gonna use the current stand for a 95. And I don't trust the stand for all that weight... And what is a Refugium...

A refugium is a refuge for macroalgaes and small beneficial creatures that would be eaten in most tanks like copepods and amphipods. The macroalgae will also assist in nutrient removal.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Is the setup the same as a sump... Ive read all about sumps but not refugium's...

 

[obscurereef]

Here's kind of what I'm talking about. Beautiful 50 gallon refugium and you can tell it's helping a lot with the water quality in the DT!

Big Mantis Shrimp in a Marine Refugium - YouTube

 

[Mrc8858]

Refugiums generally are just added into the sump as an extra chamber but you could also dedicate an entire tank to being a fuge by just having your water drain in one side with a bubble trap and return chamber on the other side (or just throw the return pump right into the fuge but this doesn't allow as good of flow and safety for fuge inhabitants)

 

[CichlidFreak425]

My plans on my sump is the water flow in with a bubble trap, the "filter" part with the sand and plants(idk what they're called) and then a bubble trap after that to the skimmer and return.. So should I chop the "filter" part in half to add a fuge?

 

[KevinM]

His Refugium is more interesting than his tank lol. Never seen one with fish and everything else in it.

 

[obscurereef]

Yeah and the mantis shrimp (not recommending one) is crazy awesome. Would love to have an aquarium just for a peacock mantis shrimp one of these days.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Okay. Off subject but my brother has a functioning 37g fowlr and he wants more sand but not aragonite. I have dry sand that I'll give him, is it safe to put it in there now or no...?

 

[Jess1ca]

Here's kind of what I'm talking about. Beautiful 50 gallon refugium and you can tell it's helping a lot with the water quality in the DT!

Big Mantis Shrimp in a Marine Refugium - YouTube

Super cool video!!

 

[Jeremy S.]

Yeah and the mantis shrimp (not recommending one) is crazy awesome. Would love to have an aquarium just for a peacock mantis shrimp one of these days.

I had a species specific tank with 2 mantis shrimp for a while...needless to say they eventually scared me one day by cracking the bottom glass of the tank they were in and I sent them to one of my buddies -_-

 

[KevinM]

aragonite sand is just out there to puffer for high ph if I have read right?

If you have hard water you dont need it, my tap PH here is 8.4 so normal sand should be ok, I know a guy here that uses PFS in his reef tank and everything is fine, and the sand will seed in no time.



mantis shrimp are just to creepy lol. Theres a video out there(cant remember if it was on Youtube or google) of one breaking the tank right in front of the guy lol. Just watched one of a guy picking his up and hand feeding it.. now see that just dumb right there lol

 

[obscurereef]

Yeah..powerful guys. That's why I would go with acrylic if it wasn't a 55 or more glass tank b/c the small aquariums have too thin of glass.

 

[obscurereef]

You can add the sand slowly. Putting it all at once will kill the life in the sand. Don't know how slow you should go though. A cup a week maybe? If it's not aragonite based sand it could contain an excessive amount of silicates which feed diatoms.