In Progress: Sumpless 55g Tank

[hhoang]

Hey guys!! sorry if this is a little picture heavy, thought I would share some updated pictures of the tank

changes I've made:
upgraded my lighting to evergrow it2040
I put purigen & phosban in my canister, kept the carbon and kicked out the ceramic rings.

I'm really happy with how this tank has been coming along. My favorite coral of the tank is my frogspawn, it's got 2 large heads and 1 very small one that seems to be getting bigger by the week. My corals are happy and I think my next big investment will be a small RO/DI unit.

I'm planning my next two projects:
pico tank, I traded my old lights for a brand new unopened 6 gallon fluval edge tank. I think I will turn the filter into a fuge.
and then I will be turning the 10gallon I have into a planted betta tank for my darling nameless.

[AwwNuts]

Tank is coming along nicely. Once it has more coral it will be breathtaking.

[10reefman]

coming along nice. Here is my 50 gal

[Pigpen17]

Looking great hh!

Not much has changed in my 56G sumpless. I have my first fish in QT right now. A Midas Blenny. Added a single coral, Xenia Pompom, and a Serpent Star.

I am wanting to add light as well. I will keep my present, but want to add one or two Marineland hidden LED in the front and back.

Oh, and I tried and decided against a background. I like the open feeling of the white wall behind. I am going to get my cords out of the way with zip tie mounts.

[Reeferz412]

With all those tanks you plan on starting up, I think an RODI unit will help reduce the hassle of picking up water from the LFS/Pet stores. Your 56 is looking great. I too, run sumpless on my 46 bowfront.

[hhoang]

Reeferz412: yeah, an RO/DI unit is actually my next purchase before I start adding more corals. I also am planning on picking up a HOB skimmer so I can boot the canister, but then again I'm using the canister as a reactor of a sort, it's doing really quite well.
Pigpen17: That's great to hear you're finally getting ready to add some more life in there, I peeked at your pictures and it is looking great!
10reefman: You're tank looks awesome! I'm pretty jealous but I want to wait until I have a skimmer before adding anymore corals.
Awwnuts: I can't wait to get more corals in mine, I've been on ebay just drooling over corals haha! I want some acans next

[AwwNuts]

I know right I been wanting to get some acans as well but picky on color wise. Soon your tank will look nice and colorful. Here's some pics of mine so far. Last week I added a purple torch with gold tips. I haven't taken a pic of it yet but I'll post a pic of what it looks like. I love the color.


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[Art13]

Maybe this will help you, maybe it won't, but a suggestion. I don't have a sump either and i tried to localize all my equipment to the top left corner. When i went to my new tank i also removed my canister and put two reactors in its place, they are a lot more efficient and easier to do maintenance with and change the media. I have a small pump in tank that goes into my phosphate media reactor and then goes into the one filled with carbon, about $90 or so total and it works very well, and doesn't look like an eyesore at this point, which i can't say for my last tank. They are a lot easier and better to deal with than a canister. You also don't need a large pump, i bought one i think rated for 90gph and used the valve to tone it down to where i wanted it. I don't have a pic of the reactors at this point but you can see the equipment in the tank in the pic below. I also love my Reef Octo HOB skimmer, it works great.

[AwwNuts]

Same here love my reef Octopus skimmer and reactor. Reactor performs much more efficient than a HOB filter. If u ever choose to run a reactor make sure to have a sponge on the pump going to the reactor to avoid detritus building up under the media making it less efficient.

[hhoang]

Originally Posted by Art13

Maybe this will help you, maybe it won't, but a suggestion. I don't have a sump either and i tried to localize all my equipment to the top left corner. When i went to my new tank i also removed my canister and put two reactors in its place, they are a lot more efficient and easier to do maintenance with and change the media. I have a small pump in tank that goes into my phosphate media reactor and then goes into the one filled with carbon, about $90 or so total and it works very well, and doesn't look like an eyesore at this point, which i can't say for my last tank. They are a lot easier and better to deal with than a canister. You also don't need a large pump, i bought one i think rated for 90gph and used the valve to tone it down to where i wanted it. I don't have a pic of the reactors at this point but you can see the equipment in the tank in the pic below. I also love my Reef Octo HOB skimmer, it works great.

thanks, that actually helps a little. I am actually going to go ahead and add an overflow and small sump, I got my hands on an in-sump skimmer and I realized adding a sump really won't be adding much more weight since there won't be a fuge. I'm also upgrading my powerhead and using one of my current ones in a nano tank

[Pigpen17]

I also have the left equipment side. Weird.

Yeah, sumps are cool, but I have always gone into this thing with the philosophy of, 'If you don't need it, don't do it." I am a notorious under stocker though, so there is that.

[hhoang]

I'm pretty much the opposite...I have 7 fish plus shrimp and a handful of various snails plus corals, so the extra volume will be of help in my case

[Pigpen17]

Originally Posted by hhoang

I'm pretty much the opposite...I have 7 fish plus shrimp and a handful of various snails plus corals, so the extra volume will be of help in my case

I hear ya. Plus there is something very cool about hiding all your gear down there. And I have often thought about how loud pumps and skimmers such must be for the fish. If you put your ear to the glass, it’s substantial. Sump may take some of that away with the ability to throw your skimmer in there.

Maybe one day. Once I get a better understanding of how you pervent a flood.

[Pigpen17]

Hey! Just thought I would post up an update on my 56g. Things are going well, but slow. Veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrry sllllllllooooooooow.

So this is my tank after 4+ months running.

Additions are

• New lid. My light won't go over water, but I wanted to do open top, so it's both now. Half glass/half grid. Still need to do the back though. I want to make sure that's where my skimmer is going to stay.
• Added a second (700gph) Powerhead so now I am dual (950+700gph)
• Tucked my heater away in the top left corner instead of on the left side glass.

I decided aganst a background. It just adds a sense of more depth without one.
I am going to hook up some kind of fastners for the wires to keep the out of view as much as possible. Maybe zip tie mounts with twist ties in them.

Livestock is still just getting going.

• Midas Blenny (Penny the Blenny)
• Cleaner Shrimp (Mr Happy Feet)
• Emerald Crab (Oscar the Grouch)
• Serpent Star (Ming the Mercilless)
• Pom Pom Xenia

Things are going well. Just getting over a DT Prazipro treatment and getting ready to start thinking about my second fish and my second coral.

[manilaboy1vic]

Thinking of converting my 55g to SW.. actually cant stop thinking about it.. may go sumpless.. thats how i found this thread.. really depends if the glass is tempered or not.. its a top fin 55g and for the life of me cannot find any info regarding its status.

I have a 29g sumpless right now... with the eshopps 75 hob.. pulls a lot of gunk out.. and two AC50s, running mechanical and chemi pure elite.. hasnt been up that long.. but havent lost any fish and do weekly water changes..

i bought my RO/DI unit after my 2nd trip the LFS... took two trips of lugging around gallons of water to convince me to get an RO/DI unit.. the best investment hands down.. orig. got a 4 stage, then got another canister on the unit to remove chloramines.

if i do find that my glass is tempered all around.. i will be getting the eshopps 100 HOB for sure.

really interested in knowing if i can just run the tank with the HOB skimmer and maybe a gfo/carbon reactor.. right now my 55g has two AC70s on it.. wouldnt mind ditching the AC70s.. the only thing i do not like about sumpless is the surface scum/film..

Another investment I recommend is the Smart ATO.. i just put that on my 29g Rimmed tank.. i just cut the plastic trim with wire cutters and it worked no problem.. my water line is the bottom of the plastic rim. why does a reef tank have to be so addictive..

[Pigpen17]

Originally Posted by manilaboy1vic

Thinking of converting my 55g to SW.. actually cant stop thinking about it.. may go sumpless.. thats how i found this thread.. really depends if the glass is tempered or not.. its a top fin 55g and for the life of me cannot find any info regarding its status.

I have a 29g sumpless right now... with the eshopps 75 hob.. pulls a lot of gunk out.. and two AC50s, running mechanical and chemi pure elite.. hasnt been up that long.. but havent lost any fish and do weekly water changes..

i bought my RO/DI unit after my 2nd trip the LFS... took two trips of lugging around gallons of water to convince me to get an RO/DI unit.. the best investment hands down.. orig. got a 4 stage, then got another canister on the unit to remove chloramines.

if i do find that my glass is tempered all around.. i will be getting the eshopps 100 HOB for sure.

really interested in knowing if i can just run the tank with the HOB skimmer and maybe a gfo/carbon reactor.. right now my 55g has two AC70s on it.. wouldnt mind ditching the AC70s.. the only thing i do not like about sumpless is the surface scum/film..

Another investment I recommend is the Smart ATO.. i just put that on my 29g Rimmed tank.. i just cut the plastic trim with wire cutters and it worked no problem.. my water line is the bottom of the plastic rim. why does a reef tank have to be so addictive..

I have run a 29g, a 65g, and my 56g all with nothing but sand, live rock, skimmer, heater and power heads. It works. I have had great water quality and clarity.

I am curious to hear what someone else might say about adding a reactor as well. I want to add one, but adding another pump is going to be a lot of gear in tank. Then you start talking about ATO as well and then I think you end up needing a sump just to hide all that equipment.

Right now I am on the fence as far as installing a sump or not. I mean my tank is doing fine with the above mentioned gear (skimmer, heater, power heads), but there are things I want to add/do that I just can't do right now. Like grow food. Add a reactor. I don't know. My thought on this has always been, "if you don't need it, don't get it", and I may stay right there. I could spend my money upgrading equipment instead, but really, once you get beyond the basic equipment, your tank would look like a terminator with all that gear in it. I think the key to sumpless is simple. Get beyond that, and it just makes sense to add a sump. IMHO

[manilaboy1vic]

The smart ato is very small. I just got a cobalt pump for water changes and it can be run externally.. so you'd be able to run input and output tubes only. Reactor hidden in back along with pump... but if you are going strong the way you are then no need to over complicate it... look at the smart ato tho... it's nice.

[Pigpen17]

Originally Posted by manilaboy1vic

The smart ato is very small. I just got a cobalt pump for water changes and it can be run externally.. so you'd be able to run input and output tubes only. Reactor hidden in back along with pump... but if you are going strong the way you are then no need to over complicate it... look at the smart ato tho... it's nice.

What do you mean "hidden" reactor? Is there a way to run the pump out of the tank? I am very new to researching this. I would install the reactor in my stand, but the pump would have to be in the tank, no? If not, that would just about hook me up, bring out my card, and ship that shi-.

[manilaboy1vic]

Look at cobalt 1200 pump. Internal or external pump

[manilaboy1vic]

@pigpen

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cobalt...powerhead.html

[Pigpen17]

Right on. Thanks.

[manilaboy1vic]

Originally Posted by Pigpen17

Right on. Thanks.

i like the cobalt MJ 1200.. I will def. get another one for a reactor and use it externally... got the 1200 for mixing and water changes.. love this thing.

im thinking of the BRS reactor, do a mix of carbon and gfo, i really just wanna get rid of my AC50s if possible.

[Pigpen17]

Originally Posted by manilaboy1vic

i like the cobalt MJ 1200.. I will def. get another one for a reactor and use it externally... got the 1200 for mixing and water changes.. love this thing.

im thinking of the BRS reactor, do a mix of carbon and gfo, i really just wanna get rid of my AC50s if possible.

I am curious about hom much nosie it would make.

I am assuming your AC=Aquaclear HOB? I used to run a Magnum HOT filter back in my 65g days. I haven't missed it at all.

Now I am going to sound like a noob here, because I am not sure of all the terms, but the one thing an HOB filter will do for you that is missing in a sumpless system is removing particulates in the water. I "wash" my live rock with a powerhead and then scoop out the bits with a fine net, but it's kind of a pain, but it's just part of my program.

[Pigpen17]

Originally Posted by manilaboy1vic

The smart ato is very small. I just got a cobalt pump for water changes and it can be run externally.. so you'd be able to run input and output tubes only. Reactor hidden in back along with pump... but if you are going strong the way you are then no need to over complicate it... look at the smart ato tho... it's nice.

Oh no! I looked at the smart ATO. Must have. Another toy to the list.

[manilaboy1vic]

Originally Posted by Pigpen17

Oh no! I looked at the smart ATO. Must have. Another toy to the list.

haha, def. worth it.. got tired of lifting my jug to do top offs..