Is it possible to have a successful reef tank without a sump?

[Northern Flicker]

My 29 gallon is a little over 10 months old, First reef tank. I am still learning every day and admire all the people on here with amazing looking tanks, and all the experience I learn from this forum. I run HOB Equipment only for now, AC70 Filter with media basket (Floss, Carbon), Aquamaxx 1.5 HOB skimmer. I use a lot of Randy Holmes Farley DIY recipes for dosing helps a lot. I also use DIY Coral Snow from Sunnyx, works so well.

Nice striped Blenny Captive bred?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm completely changing my HOB media out thursday when it all gets here. After I change it out I will try to add macro algae. Is there anything I can do to not starve out my coral with the algae and instead starve the algae?

Algae eats dissolved organics, corals eat fish poop. Thats why its so important to feed the fish often, but make sure that no foods gets missed to rot.

Keep in mind you should be cleaning out your hob weekly, if not then it is also contributing to the algae. It will hold uneaten food until its cleaned out.

 

[cdemoss01]

Algae eats dissolved organics, corals eat fish poop. Thats why its so important to feed the fish often, but make sure that no foods gets missed to rot.

Keep in mind you should be cleaning out your hob weekly, if not then it is also contributing to the algae. It will hold uneaten food until its cleaned out.

How should I clean it out? And also if corals eat fish poop and algae eats dissolved organics all I have to do is make sure food gets eaten but feed my macro algae with some sort of chemical or food? Maybe some chaeto grow

 

[lil sumpin]

This article presents a couple of classic methods that dont incorporate a sump. I converted my Aquaclear 50 into an HOB fuge a few months back and while I haven't seen a huge dent in nutrient levels, I've been regularly harvesting golf ball sized amounts of chaeto every few weeks. As mentioned, if you dont clean out the HOB it can become a detritus trap and allow for nuisance algae to grow along with the macros.

 

[cdemoss01]

This article presents a couple of classic methods that dont incorporate a sump. I converted my Aquaclear 50 into an HOB fuge a few months back and while I haven't seen a huge dent in nutrient levels, I've been regularly harvesting golf ball sized amounts of chaeto every few weeks. As mentioned, if you dont clean out the HOB it can become a detritus trap and allow for nuisance algae to grow along with the macros.

How did you do that? How are your levels?

 

[Slocke]

I’ve done it for a while. I suggest the Tunze comline skimmers. Really awesome in tank skimmer. Kind of sad it doesn’t fit in my sump now that I have a sump

 

[GARRIGA]

Plan is using a series of canisters off an AIO therefore technically a sump but no skimmer that will be replaced by Fuge/ATS post filtration prior to returning to main. Testing that shortly if I stop procrastinating about rebooting my test tank

 

[lil sumpin]

How did you do that? How are your levels?

To make the fuge, I riffed off some ideas I saw on YouTube and online in general. There's a bit of modding and accesories you can purchase to make things a bit easier, like a media basket with a couple chambers but most importantly you'll need a solid grow light for the chaeto. For the first few months in my tank's life cycle, P was hovering consistently around .25 to .4ppm and N was 20 to 30ppm. Now theyre more consistently around .1 to .2ppm and 10-20ppm. Might resort back to protein skimming but overall everything is lookin good

 

[cdemoss01]

To make the fuge, I riffed off some ideas I saw on YouTube and online in general. There's a bit of modding and accesories you can purchase to make things a bit easier, like a media basket with a couple chambers but most importantly you'll need a solid grow light for the chaeto. For the first few months in my tank's life cycle, P was hovering consistently around .25 to .4ppm and N was 20 to 30ppm. Now theyre more consistently around .1 to .2ppm and 10-20ppm. Might resort back to protein skimming but overall everything is lookin good

Cant you do both? And what light are you using for it? Is the light sumurged or attached to the top of the filter lid? And are you worried of it short circuiting and killing everything?

 

[Sophie"s mom]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/no-sump-no-problem-you-don’t-need-it-what-else-do-you-not-need.846785/ This thread has a couple of people who don't run sumps on their tanks.

I do not run a sump for my 90 gallon. I use an HOB Reef Octo skimmer, an HOB bio wheel filter, and an oversized Oase 600 canister filter which connects to a UV sterilizer. So far at least, my tank runs great! Yes it is more maintenance on my end, but I do not mind. The Oase canister is amazing. I am an old school kind of person. I am very religious about my by weekly water changes, and my testing.

 

[lil sumpin]

Cant you do both? And what light are you using for it? Is the light sumurged or attached to the top of the filter lid? And are you worried of it short circuiting and killing everything?

Certainly can but I also dont wanna strip the water of nutrients since I have softies and LPS. This is my makeshift fuge

 

[vlangel]

It is very possible to run a reef tank without a sump, skimmer, ect if a proper balance is maintained. We older aquarists learned that because we did not have as many options or we could not afford the equipment options that were out there.

Definitely there is a balance between fish food that feed the fish that then turns into poop or wastes. That turns into nitrates, phosphates or nutrients. Nutrients are not bad but there needs to be a balance in the nutrients going into the tank and the nutrients being removed from the tank. Corals consume some nitrates and phosphates. Macroalgae also consume some nitrates and phosphates. Water changes are another fairly safe way to remove some nutrients. Then there are HOB pumps, canister filters, skimmers, ATS and reactors to aid in export of nutrients.

If that is not enough to figure out; light is also an important variable. I learned in my early days of keeping a FOWLR that too much light made nuisance algae grow. To control unwanted algae I began by cutting down how much I fed and how long my light was on. When my fish looked fat and sleek but my tank stayed reasonably clean then I knew that I had achieved the proper balance. With a reef tank where light is essential for the health of the coral, this balance is trickier. That is when I began incorporating ornamental macroalgae which is pretty and can outcompete nuisance algae. It needs to be pruned regularly so that it doesn't smother and starve the coral but with a softie/LPS tank this can be very effective. My tank is a 56 gallon softie/LPS tank and I have very little nuisance algae except film algae on the glass. I do have a sump but had started this tank without a sump only using a HOB aquaclear filter and 10% weekly water changes. Now with the tank coming on its 8th year I am down to a 5 gallon water change every 3-4 months. Seek the proper balance and you will work less and enjoy your hobby more.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

It is very possible to run a reef tank without a sump, skimmer, ect if a proper balance is maintained. We older aquarists learned that because we did not have as many options or we could not afford the equipment options that were out there.

Definitely there is a balance between fish food that feed the fish that then turns into poop or wastes. That turns into nitrates, phosphates or nutrients. Nutrients are not bad but there needs to be a balance in the nutrients going into the tank and the nutrients being removed from the tank. Corals consume some nitrates and phosphates. Macroalgae also consume some nitrates and phosphates. Water changes are another fairly safe way to remove some nutrients. Then there are HOB pumps, canister filters, skimmers, ATS and reactors to aid in export of nutrients.

If that is not enough to figure out; light is also an important variable. I learned in my early days of keeping a FOWLR that too much light made nuisance algae grow. To control unwanted algae I began by cutting down how much I fed and how long my light was on. When my fish looked fat and sleek but my tank stayed reasonably clean then I knew that I had achieved the proper balance. With a reef tank where light is essential for the health of the coral, this balance is trickier. That is when I began incorporating ornamental macroalgae which is pretty and can outcompete nuisance algae. It needs to be pruned regularly so that it doesn't smother and starve the coral but with a softie/LPS tank this can be very effective. My tank is a 56 gallon softie/LPS tank and I have very little nuisance algae except film algae on the glass. I do have a sump but had started this tank without a sump only using a HOB aquaclear filter and 10% weekly water changes. Now with the tank coming on its 8th year I am down to a 5 gallon water change every 3-4 months. Seek the proper balance and you will work less and enjoy your hobby more.

great looking tank.

 

[cdemoss01]

Certainly can but I also dont wanna strip the water of nutrients since I have softies and LPS. This is my makeshift fuge

Thank you I will be doing this with my Tidal pretty sure its big enough. Does the light sumburge into the water though?

 

[Solo McReefer]

Yes

The sump is there just to hold your stuff

You could put it all your stuff in your display tank and it would work the same

You're just moving water from one tank into another then back again. It can stay in one tank just fine

 

[NorthernReefer86]

Nice striped Blenny Captive bred?

Thank you, as far as I know it is captive bred...purchased the blenny back in October 23' at Petco.

 

[MoshJosh]

Yup:

11 gallon HOB filter

 

[FUNGI]

125G, 3 x FX6's running LR Rubble, IceCap K3-250 skimmer....No Sump.

 

[Extremeengineer]

Oversized canister works great

Yes, used one on a FOWLR for many years, started up a 75g on an FX6 with a Tunze in tank skimmer recently, have not added corals yet, running low light first few months to lessen the uglies, but everything looks great. Nitrate stays under 5 with weekly 15-20% WC. Running Seachem Matrix carbon and Chemipure Elite right now, the Seachem because I can clean and reuse, and the Elite because I have some Carib-Sea rock that I just want to preempt any phos. issues hopefully. Canister is clean, quiet, and no salt creep in the LR.

 

[Spare time]

Should I start doing weekly water changes? I never did anything like that to be honest. Ill be getting skimmer and refugium but what else can I do to starve algae and get my nitrates ti 15-25

You can't starve algae and keep coral. You just need things to eat algae.