Changing Sumps

[Burrow09]

Currently I’m running a Wet-Dry Trickle filter on my 90 Gallon Saltwater aquarium. I’d like to upgrade to a refugium system. My problem is I can not get any refugium sumps through my aquarium stand doors.

My options looks like

A) Keep what I have
B) Drain the tank and move it.

But to do option B I’d have remove everything and idk how that would work

Any suggestions

 

[TriggerFinger]

Any pics of your sump and stand?

 

[Dom]

You may want to use a modular sump design by adding a refugium to your existing wet/dry sump.

A picture of your existing sump would be helpful, but based on a guess, you have an old style wet/dry filter with blue "bio balls". The water flows through filter media and down over the balls to the bottom where it flows under a divider and into a return chamber and back into the tank.

Purchase a pair of 1 inch bulkheads and connect a 5 gallon tank to the return chamber with a piece of PVC. Now the tank becomes your return chamber and the return chamber on the sump can become your refugium.

Post some pictures. It will be easier to explain that way.

Dom

 

[Burrow09]

You may want to use a modular sump design by adding a refugium to your existing wet/dry sump.

A picture of your existing sump would be helpful, but based on a guess, you have an old style wet/dry filter with blue "bio balls". The water flows through filter media and down over the balls to the bottom where it flows under a divider and into a return chamber and back into the tank.

Purchase a pair of 1 inch bulkheads and connect a 5 gallon tank to the return chamber with a piece of PVC. Now the tank becomes your return chamber and the return chamber on the sump can become your refugium.

Post some pictures. It will be easier to explain that way.

Dom

I have plenty of room in my stand but idk how to get it under. I can bring it in from the back.

My question there...is it alright to just drain it down til the weight becomes manageable and take out some live rock? I’d have to scoot the tank away from the wall about 2-4 feet to bring it in from the back.

 

[Bryknicks]

My question there...is it alright to just drain it down til the weight becomes manageable and take out some live rock? I’d have to scoot the tank away from the wall about 2-4 feet to bring it in from the back.

Yes this is no problem at all. I have done this to move my tank across the room before. Put the rocks you take out in the tank water you removed, and cover any exposed rock left in the tank with tank water wet newspaper.