Do FOWL's need a sump?

[HunterW]

I have a bare 90 gal coming in July; my checklist of what I need includes a sump. What is the smallest sump I can 'get away' with without an issue. It really isn't about the money, as I am taking it slowly, but I don't want to go past a 35 gallon tank, I have my own reasons...but I'm all about listening/learning and taking it SLOW. As anyone should; not a newbie, have dealt with many in a fish dept in the past who were not..but years ago...so I'm open to suggestions. I'm not doing coral; in fact going to do a seahorse specific tank...Anything wrong with a 35 gal?

 

[WVNed]

A sump needs to be no larger then the equipment you want to put in it. I have used a 10 gallon tank with no baffles in the past for a FOWLR.

 

[madweazl]

Nothing requires a sump but they're extremely handy for keeping the display clean; by that, I mean keeping the heaters, probes, dosing lines, and the back of the tank nice and tidy. This also alleviates any needed items that would hang off the back of the tank so you can move it closer to the wall. As for size, I wouldn't go less than 30g but that isn't a requirement. Ultimately, it just needs to be big enough to hold all your desired items and have enough capacity to hold the back siphon from the display when the pumps are shut off (or the power goes out).

 

[RobW]

I wouldn't see a problem with running a 20-25 gallon sump. You said fish only with some live rock? If you put somewhere between 50-75 pounds of rock and have a sump with some good circulation and some decent mechanical filtration, you should be totally fine.

 

[HunterW]

Nothing requires a sump but they're extremely handy for keeping the display clean; by that, I mean keeping the heaters, probes, dosing lines, and the back of the tank nice and tidy. This also alleviates any needed items that would hang off the back of the tank so you can move it closer to the wall as well. As for size, I wouldn't go less than 30g but that isn't a requirement. Ultimately, it just needs to be big enough to hold all your desired items and have enough capacity to hold the back siphon from the display when the pumps are shut off (or the power goes out).

Thanks....I SHOULD have mentioned it's a glass 90 gal bow front, so it'll be smack up against the corner wall. I was measuring the area I cleared for the tank; as I'm away a bit this month; & headed to a lumber yard to look at wood. Thinking of beetle wood..my decor can go with 'whatever'. Yep, there's no option for 'the back of the tank'. I do need tidy...I'm very OCD about that for a tank. Thanks!

 

[4n2xtacy]

A sump is just an extra tank to hold your equipment, a refugium (if you choose) and extra water. That being said, it all depends on what type of equipment you have. For a FOWLR, even though a sump and fuge is a big plus, it is not an absolute necessity. When I started the hobby, I had a HOB skimmer and a HOB mechanical filter with live rocks. I just installed my sump 9months later. That been said, A 30gal sump on a 90gal tank should be more than enough, with that you shouldn't worry about an overflow in the sump. I have a 75gal tank with a 30gal sump but an external display refugium. Here's my setup.

 

[HunterW]

I wouldn't see a problem with running a 20-25 gallon sump. You said fish only with some live rock? If you put somewhere between 50-75 pounds of rock and have a sump with some good circulation and some decent mechanical filtration, you should be totally fine.

Yep...fish only OR seahorse specific. Doing due diligence some this weekend; I'm excited. This chick isn't doing nail growing til the stand is done...Lol. Thanks for your help; it's appreciated to all of you!

 

[HunterW]

I forgot to say; VERY nice sump!

 

[HunterW]

A sump needs to be no larger then the equipment you want to put in it. I have used a 10 gallon tank with no baffles in the past for a FOWLR.

This helps to know; I do plan on one; and there's a guy on YT that gave some good advice about having an additional section 'just in case'. I'm taking up studying all this like a sponge so thanks for people's patience with my question(s).

 

[RobW]

A sump is just an extra tank to hold your equipment, a refugium (if you choose) and extra water. That being said, it all depends on what type of equipment you have. For a FOWLR, even though a sump and fuge is a big plus, it is not an absolute necessity. When I started the hobby, I had a HOB skimmer and a HOB mechanical filter with live rocks. I just installed my sump 9months later. That been said, A 30gal sump on a 90gal tank should be more than enough, with that you shouldn't worry about an overflow in the sump. I have a 75gal tank with a 30gal sump but an external display refugium. Here's my setup.

Cool setup. Going with all red plumbing on my new build as well.

 

[ScottR]

I saw a guy build a sump with baffles and had a nice looking sump, great plumbing. He bought a skimmer and it was too big for his sump. He had to break it all down and do it over. So as someone else mentioned, choose your equipment wisely.

 

[4n2xtacy]

Cool setup. Going with all red plumbing on my new build as well.

Thanks, the color kinda makes the sump look neat.

 

[4n2xtacy]

I forgot to say; VERY nice sump!

Thanks.

 

[Goodair]

My 90g has a 29g sump and fits everything I need. Socks, skimmer, heaters, uv, return pump, and a refugium. Space is a lil tight due to the sump is inside the cabinet, but its not really a hassle for when doing maintenance.

Best thing to do is get all your equiptment before doing your baffles. Place it all inside and have some cardboard to shift around to figure out you chamber sizes. Mark em with a marker then you can silicone the real baffles in.

 

[Brett S]

Honestly I’m of the camp that bigger is better and you’re better off getting the biggest sump that you can afford (and that will fit in the stand). At a bare minimum the sump needs to hold whatever equipment you as well as the water that backflows from the DT when the return pump is off.

Depending on your tank and the way the overflows are configured and such that can easily be 5% or 10% of your DT volume, so with a 90G tank you probably need to leave room for 5-10G of water to backflow into the sump when the power fails or you turn off the return pump for maintenance. I think based on that a 10G tank would really be too small. You could probably get away with a 20, but even that might be a little tight since having more water in the sump also allows you to have a little more of a cushion for evaporation.

The other thing to consider is that even if you get the smallest possible sump that you can squeeze your equipment into that things might change in the future. You might want to change your skimmer or your return pump in a few years and the new ones might be a little larger than the originals. Or you might want to add a carbon reactor and need a little more room than have.

 

[HunterW]

My 90g has a 29g sump and fits everything I need. Socks, skimmer, heaters, uv, return pump, and a refugium. Space is a lil tight due to the sump is inside the cabinet, but its not really a hassle for when doing maintenance.

Best thing to do is get all your equiptment before doing your baffles. Place it all inside and have some cardboard to shift around to figure out you chamber sizes. Mark em with a marker then you can silicone the real baffles in.

Makes alot of sense, thank you