Opinion/rant: Sump designs are overcomplicated

[VintageReefer]

If only there were space and honestly I think I’m over particulate filtration.

Now thats something! I wouldn’t want to have carbon in all the time but that is a great solution for when needed. Perhaps some rubble would be a good alternate…

I have the same sump for my new tank build, and will be using the media cups just like JoJosReef.

Two cups will hold a bag of chemi pure elite, the third cup will hold rubble or matrix

Middle section will be a skimmer, live rock, and an algae scrubber.

 

[ScottD]

I’m going the plain Jane route. I bought a 40 gallon breeder to use as the sump for my 135 gallon cube. I oversized the stand just slightly so that I could fit it in there. I originally planned on just getting some glass cut to create a baffle for my return and have the rest of it be a fuge but came across a cheap Fiji sump kit so using part of that instead. I decided to keep the filter sock holders as it will allow me to run socks temporarily when I stir things up in the tank, don’t plan on using them regularly. I do like the idea of using cups to hold media if needed as well. The rest will be fuge and a baffle to hold it at a steady level to drain into my return section.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I tend to agree that sumps today are overly complicated. My previous setup had a sump with all sorts of baffles and compartments, I hated it. When I set up my new 300 gallon tank I bought a 75 gallon during one of the petco sales and threw everything in it. Its really simple and works really well. I do have a separate tank for my refugium that drains by gravity into my sump. If my refugium was in my sump, I would have some baffles to separate it from my protein skimmer.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Wide open with a baffle to control the water level in the return section and that’s it!

This is exactly what I do in all my tanks. I use Aqueon aquariums with a single baffle for skimmer level control. It leaves lots of room for equipment and water volume.

 

[Bryknicks]

I have a bigger tank of the same system you have that had all those sump chambers. I cut out all of the baffles from the sump, had two new smaller glass pieces cut from a local shop, and siliconed them in place. Now I have one large section and a return section. Nice and simple!

 

[KrisReef]

Seems like ugly sumps can grow beautiful coral and fish.
I would take a picture of my own ugly water container but the lights are off and I don’t want to scare my pumps.

Edit: the only feature that my ugly sump doesn’t have is a bottom drain to flush the detritus out of the collection point. I have wanted one for awhile but can’t figure out how to get one?

 

[DrewBR]

I think sumps are a lot like the aquariums themselves, there is no one size fits all solution. A fancy sump is just as usefull as it's adapted to the aquarium and the reefers routine. If you are a methodical maniac who will clean your tank twice a day and have everything perfectly aligned a fancy 15 baffle sump might be great. Max I could handle to date was 3 chambers: filter floss, refugium+skimmer, and return + heater.

 

[Ferrell]

2017 - My sump for my 75 is a 30L with homemade baffles (too many in fact). I run socks, sump full of rubble left overs, and skimmer which stopped about a year ago and hasn’t been replaced.
So basically socks, rocks and a return pump plus carbon for softy wars. Feed 4 fish heavily and still 0 N and 0 P. Haven’t done a water change in two years. Maintain salinity by adding salt to socks or top off, or removing a bit of tank water depending on reading.

 

[Slocke]

2017 - My sump for my 75 is a 30L with homemade baffles (too many in fact). I run socks, sump full of rubble left overs, and skimmer which stopped about a year ago and hasn’t been replaced.
So basically socks, rocks and a return pump plus carbon for softy wars. Feed 4 fish heavily and still 0 N and 0 P. Haven’t done a water change in two years. Maintain salinity by adding salt to socks or top off, or removing a bit of tank water depending on reading.

With corals of that size you don’t need a refugium.
They are massive!!

 

[merkmerk73]

I disagree - I think sumps aren’t engineered well enough

I want a dump with a section that allows socks or filter roller

I want a good skimmer section

I want a refugium section but it needs light blockage - either through color or being in a different chamber completely

I want a good return section

And then I want configurability!

 

[Troylee]

I disagree - I think sumps aren’t engineered well enough

I want a dump with a section that allows socks or filter roller

I want a good skimmer section

I want a refugium section but it needs light blockage - either through color or being in a different chamber completely

I want a good return section

And then I want configurability!

All I heard is a recipe for Dino’s! You don’t need all that nutrient export and will starve your tank.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

All I heard is a recipe for Dino’s! You don’t need all that nutrient export and will starve your tank.

I'm coming to the conclusion that we have gone to far and equipment has gotten to good. I agree. Simple is the way to go. You don't need a complex sump

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I got some NOS Somatic sumps for a couple of my tanks. They have one section that I use for one of my drains, heaters and a small fleece roller that I can turn on or off if I am doing maintenance on the tank. The other section is wide open. Skimmer, return pump everything else goes in there. If I ran a refugium I would run it remotely, so I could control the flow. The Eshopps refugium cube sump does a nice job of doing that but I can't fit that under my tanks. The Somatic sump under my 40g has been running for a couple years and is filled with filter feeders. That is one of my tanks that I am fighting to hold on to nutrients.

 

[Troylee]

I got some NOS Somatic sumps for a couple of my tanks. They have one section that I use for one of my drains, heaters and a small fleece roller that I can turn on or off if I am doing maintenance on the tank. The other section is wide open. Skimmer, return pump everything else goes in there. If I ran a refugium I would run it remotely, so I could control the flow. The Eshopps refugium cube sump does a nice job of doing that but I can't fit that under my tanks. The Somatic sump under my 40g has been running for a couple years and is filled with filter feeders. That is one of my tanks that I am fighting to hold on to nutrients.

To me personally it’s worthless to have a filter roller and skimmer fighting! For me it’s one or the other and my choice will always be a skimmer if for nothing more than the added ph benefit.. I like the idea of a filter roller but they seem to strip everything and don’t let the tank do its cycle and break down food and go through the nitrogen cycle. On top of that the added cost of replacing filter rolls and time etc.. much easier to empty a skimmer cup and keep on rolling..

 

[JoJosReef]

To me personally it’s worthless to have a filter roller and skimmer fighting! For me it’s one or the other and my choice will always be a skimmer if for nothing more than the added ph benefit.. I like the idea of a filter roller but they seem to strip everything and don’t let the tank do its cycle and break down food and go through the nitrogen cycle. On top of that the added cost of replacing filter rolls and time etc.. much easier to empty a skimmer cup and keep on rolling..

How about easier to just let some clams or oysters do the work for you?

 

[Slocke]

How about easier to just let some clams or oysters do the work for you?

Cause we both know how easy clams are…

 

[JoJosReef]

Cause we both know how easy clams are…

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

To me personally it’s worthless to have a filter roller and skimmer fighting! For me it’s one or the other and my choice will always be a skimmer if for nothing more than the added ph benefit.. I like the idea of a filter roller but they seem to strip everything and don’t let the tank do its cycle and break down food and go through the nitrogen cycle. On top of that the added cost of replacing filter rolls and time etc.. much easier to empty a skimmer cup and keep on rolling..

I guess I should qualify. My filter rollers I turn on and off when needed, I do not run them constantly on an established tank, just when I am cleaning. If I am stirring up detritus in the sand I really do not want it back in my system. Same goes for some algae that tends to grow on freshly cleaned pumps etc. The rolls I use are Red Sea that are 200µ compared to the 50µ ones that come with most other fleece rollers. One might say I could just use socks while I do that, but I have a hard time keeping up with the tanks I have and every minute I spend with them is valuable. That and the socks would get forgotten and I would have to clean them. I run my skimmer 24/7 and even then it is a dark skim. It is basically a gas exchanger with a bonus.

 

[tbaum101]

My old sump was two compartments. It was a 20 long with some acrylic and egg crate to separate. Left end was skimmer. Right side was return. The overflows just went through two socks with one PVC end shoved into each on the skimmer side. I changed the socks every other day. If they overflowed, it went straight into the sump anyway. Worked great.

Reminds me of the old Trickle over Bio Balls Wet/Dry Sumps from the 90's. They worked.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Reminds me of the old Trickle over Bio Balls Wet/Dry Sumps from the 90's. They worked.

I never even considered a sump in the 90s. My knowledge base came from Petco employees. And they sucked. My 29g tank was FULL of fish. After the die off, it stabilized, but wow. I knew nothing!