Recommendations For Beginner

snaza · 03/30/2006, 06:00 PM

the main thing i need advice about it the best fitration. i understand live rock and a good protein skimmer but i dont really understand about sumps etc? can i buy them or is it best to build one. whats do they do, and whats inside them. or is that not really required if i have good circulation from powerhead. do i need some sort of canister filter go get all the larger parts our of the water.

any advice and prices estimates would be great

drparker151 · 03/30/2006, 06:22 PM

Snaza,

Sump, people will use the term loosely. Basically a sump has mechanical and or chemical filtration, bio balls etc.. . You can buy them; most just build them at a much lower cost. If you use enough live rock you wont need and don't want the mechanical filter. A mechanical filter can become a nitrate factory, which will result in a lot of bad algae. I built a refugium (fuge) from an old 15 gal tank. I siliconed in some plexiglass for the baffles. a fuge allows you to place more live rock in your system and good macro algae.

Some people will say sump when they really mean fuge.

So you want your sump to be a fuge. Clear as mud right?

Drew

snaza · 03/30/2006, 06:26 PM

yeah i guess i want a fuge. is it easy to just make 1. i'm good at DIY so im confident if others can build one so can i. so for my fuge, i can just use a old small tank with some more live rock and bioballs in 2 different sections. with a return pump. it that what it basically is or am i way off?

cmomo0128 · 03/30/2006, 06:29 PM

a sump is really just an area to creat more tank volume and hide all the filtration equipment: protein skimmer, heater, etc. If you have enough space under the stand, you could do a sump with a refugium. I think the last post describes it best. If you do go this route you have to have an overflow and a return pump.

55Reef · 03/30/2006, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza
yeah i guess i want a fuge. is it easy to just make 1. i'm good at DIY so im confident if others can build one so can i. so for my fuge, i can just use a old small tank with some more live rock and bioballs in 2 different sections. with a return pump. it that what it basically is or am i way off?

Yep! That's pretty much it.
No Bioballs though. They are Nitrate factories

Here is a great site. Everything you wanted to know about sumps,
Refugiums etc.

Have fun!

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

otterpop510 · 03/30/2006, 07:58 PM

agree with 55reef, check out melev's site, its some of the best info with great pics for DIY. also, normally most people with fuges have three chambers, the intake chamber, normally with the skimmer, the second chamber would be the refugarium (with chaeto as the macroalgae of choice now, i believe.. and some put some live rock too), then the last chamber being where the return pump goes. i see people putting live rock whereever they can fit it in any/all the three chambers.

heaters, phosphate reactors, auto-top offs, etc all are potential accessories to this basic setup, as is a 'grow-out' or 'frag' tank. you may want to also look at the DIY forum..

03/30/2006, 06:00 PM	#1
snaza Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 1,393	Recommendations For Beginner the main thing i need advice about it the best fitration. i understand live rock and a good protein skimmer but i dont really understand about sumps etc? can i buy them or is it best to build one. whats do they do, and whats inside them. or is that not really required if i have good circulation from powerhead. do i need some sort of canister filter go get all the larger parts our of the water. any advice and prices estimates would be great

03/30/2006, 06:26 PM	#3
snaza Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 1,393	thanks yeah i guess i want a fuge. is it easy to just make 1. i'm good at DIY so im confident if others can build one so can i. so for my fuge, i can just use a old small tank with some more live rock and bioballs in 2 different sections. with a return pump. it that what it basically is or am i way off?

03/30/2006, 07:58 PM	#6
otterpop510 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: oakland, ca Posts: 1,018	agree with 55reef, check out melev's site, its some of the best info with great pics for DIY. also, normally most people with fuges have three chambers, the intake chamber, normally with the skimmer, the second chamber would be the refugarium (with chaeto as the macroalgae of choice now, i believe.. and some put some live rock too), then the last chamber being where the return pump goes. i see people putting live rock whereever they can fit it in any/all the three chambers. heaters, phosphate reactors, auto-top offs, etc all are potential accessories to this basic setup, as is a 'grow-out' or 'frag' tank. you may want to also look at the DIY forum.. __________________ huh? you mean those are not purple people eaters in my avatar? Current Tank Info: home: 75 gal reef, 18 gal planted discus; class: 20 gal reef and some goldfish which won't die..

03/30/2006, 06:22 PM	#2
drparker151 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2	Snaza, Sump, people will use the term loosely. Basically a sump has mechanical and or chemical filtration, bio balls etc.. . You can buy them; most just build them at a much lower cost. If you use enough live rock you wont need and don't want the mechanical filter. A mechanical filter can become a nitrate factory, which will result in a lot of bad algae. I built a refugium (fuge) from an old 15 gal tank. I siliconed in some plexiglass for the baffles. a fuge allows you to place more live rock in your system and good macro algae. Some people will say sump when they really mean fuge. So you want your sump to be a fuge. Clear as mud right? Drew

03/30/2006, 06:29 PM	#4
cmomo0128 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Odessa, TX. Posts: 107	a sump is really just an area to creat more tank volume and hide all the filtration equipment: protein skimmer, heater, etc. If you have enough space under the stand, you could do a sump with a refugium. I think the last post describes it best. If you do go this route you have to have an overflow and a return pump.