Refugium / Sump Advice?!

[RRietow]

Hey Guys!

I am in the design phase for my brand new fish room for my 175 gallon reef. Through my research, I have read a lot about Refugiums and Sumps but I am a bit confused as to why I would need one. My tank is perfectly fine without it now but I want to do the job right once and for all.

Who makes the best one? What model would you recommend for my use case?

 

[Sniperhank]

The question on who makes the best one, the answer is you. There is no reason to buy a premade sump. You can make them out of old tanks or what I want to do is use a plastic horse trough.
Sumps are important because they give an additional body of water in the system. This helps dilute problems if they were to arise.
Sumps also provide the ability to put any/all equipment into them. This is to include refugiums or algae turf scrubbers. These things can help to lower the toxic levels that can build up in our systems over time through various means, as it depends on what way the person chooses to address the issue.