Sump worth it for planted tank?

[PaulieFish]

So I dont know why, but I currently have a HOB aquaclear 110 filter for my 45g tank. And I do not know why but I want to try a sump. I have extra 10g that I wanted to make a sump. Couple questions..

The big one, is it even worth it? I guess I kind of wanted to try a sump just in case I ever wanted to go saltwater. Right now I have a standard 45g tank, no holes drilled or anything. I was wondering would I have to drill holes if so then its out, but I think ive seen some without any holes drilled in the tank.

So basically I would need to make my own overflown and sump.

So yeah.. what do you think... is it worth it for a 45g tank? is 10g big enough.. someone..

 

[PaulieFish]

Anybody

 

[neilanh]

It's a matter of opinion. Personally for me, it's overkill for a FW tank, but there are benefits to it (such as it's a nice place to hide your heaters).

You can use a HOB overflow (I use that on my SW tank anyway) and do the whole system without having to drill any holes at all.

One downside you'll need to consider is if you're (or planning to) inject CO2, sumps offer a large amount of gas exchange due to the fact that you're draining lots of water a large distance downwards, so if you're injecting CO2 a sump will cause most, if not all, of it to offgas.

 

[PaulieFish]

It's a matter of opinion. Personally for me, it's overkill for a FW tank, but there are benefits to it (such as it's a nice place to hide your heaters).

You can use a HOB overflow (I use that on my SW tank anyway) and do the whole system without having to drill any holes at all.

One downside you'll need to consider is if you're (or planning to) inject CO2, sumps offer a large amount of gas exchange due to the fact that you're draining lots of water a large distance downwards, so if you're injecting CO2 a sump will cause most, if not all, of it to offgas.

Very true did not think of that. The main reason I wanted to try it was because one I day I want to consider a reef tank, and I wanted to slowly see if I could handle more responsibilities. But yes I guess the sump is out due to the planted tank. One day I will dive into reef.. maybe when I actually get a good amount of money (tax return!?)