Equipment for Sumpless 55

[mjanko]

Hey, so I know EVERYONE says a sump is a “necessity” however I just physically can’t get one in the space allotted, what equipment would you guys run if you had a 55 sumpless?

 

[Applegate]

Hey, so I know EVERYONE says a sump is a “necessity” however I just physically can’t get one in the space allotted, what equipment would you guys run if you had a 55 sumpless?

I've been running a fluval 306 canister filter with marinepure bio balls, phosban, and purigen. Plumbed into a diy chaeto reactor. And a hob octopus classic 100 protein skimmer. All on a 60 gal

 

[BantyRooster97]

How pretty do you want it to be? I ran a 40g breeder for over a year with nothing but live rock, an old paper filter magnum canister & about a gallons worth of chaeto floating in it. You could section a small part of the tank off for your chaeto.

 

[samnaz]

A sumpis never needed, just preferred.

I have a 20L with an AC70, I also had an Aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer but I removed to clean 3 months ago and never put it back...

So for a 55 I’d get an AC110 and a HOB skimmer. I wasn’t widely impressed with the one I had so maybe look at others.

 

[mjanko]

I've been running a fluval 306 canister filter with marinepure bio balls, phosban, and purigen. Plumbed into a diy chaeto reactor. And a hob octopus classic 100 protein skimmer. All on a 60 gal

Do you have a build thread? I’d love to see the diy chaeto reactor

 

[mjanko]

How pretty do you want it to be? I ran a 40g breeder for over a year with nothing but live rock, an old paper filter magnum canister & about a gallons worth of chaeto floating in it. You could section a small part of the tank off for your chaeto.

I’d rather not have a gallon of algae floating around but I would settle with in tank skimmers etc if I have to

 

[BantyRooster97]

LOL, I totally understand. It began as a QT for me and wound up being home for a clownfish. Anyway, I was just trying to say, you can get away with not having a sump. There are many ways to have a nice tank. Even a hang on chaeto would work. Or even build an in tank chaeto area if you wanted.

 

[Applegate]

Do you have a build thread? I’d love to see the diy chaeto reactor

I don't have an actual build thread but here are some pictures. I also didn't want a in tank heater so I bought an in line heater. Works great!

 

[Applegate]

I don't have an actual build thread but here are some pictures. I also didn't want a in tank heater so I bought an in line heater. Works great!

Not sure why the pictures came out sideways

 

[mjanko]

I don't have an actual build thread but here are some pictures. I also didn't want a in tank heater so I bought an in line heater. Works great!

Ah I see what you did there, is it working well?

 

[Greaps]

SKIMMER - TUNZE in-tank.

HEATER - COBALT (low profile)(not sure what Watt's just grabbed a pic)

FLOW - 2 ICECAP GYER 3k( opposing horizontal across top)
(standard 55g is a long narrow tank, I believe a gyre would excel in this setting)

 

[Applegate]

Ah I see what you did there, is it working well?

So far ya it's worked great! Upgrading the filter media and the reactor reduced the flow rate from the canister filter but it's not my main flow producer so I'm not worried about that

 

[mjanko]

So far ya it's worked great! Upgrading the filter media and the reactor reduced the flow rate from the canister filter but it's not my main flow producer so I'm not worried about that

How’d you make the reactor?

 

[Applegate]

How’d you make the reactor?

Bought a lightly used two little fishes phosban reactor from my lrs, wrapped it in grow lights I found on Amazon. I'll include the Amazon link. And just fit it up to my canister filter return line. That easy. The hard part was getting the joints not to leak. I went with slightly smaller flexible tubing than my fittings. Put the ends in boiling water so they'd be flexible enough to stretch over the fittings and used screw clamps to ensure no leaks. Once it's all fit up. Just put a golf ball sized amount of chaeto in the reactor, turn the lights on and let it grow. I leave my lights on 24-7

Grow LED Lights,GLIME 5050 SMD LED Plant Lights Grow Lamp with Control Panel 5M Waterproof Flexible Soft Strip with Adapter for Office Home Greenhouse Hydroponics Indoor Plant Flower Seeds Growth US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077BS677N/ref=cm_sw_r_fm_apa_cjaZAbM7B6Z33

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

My main tank is a 55 gallon mixed reef, no sump, no skimmer. Just a hang on marineland filter with filters plus GFO and a little carbon. I also use a cobalt Neotherm heater, and 2 hydor powerheads

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

This is my 55 as mentioned above, so you can see it is possible haha

 

[Tft12]

These small skimmerless systems look pretty neat.

I ran a 55 reef for a couple years without a sump but I used a Tunze in-tank skimmer (I’m pretty sure it was a 9012). I was pretty happy with the skimmer - not a lot of bubble return and not too ugly in the tank...but no visible filtration equipment is always better or course. I also ran it with a CPR HOB refugium with a mud bed and growing chaeto. I liked the fuge but the DIY chaeto reactors look like a better choice now.

At the time, when I was looking for a HOB skimmer most seemed like there would be a disaster on the floor if the skimmer went crazy and overfoamed (which happens to most of us from time to time) so that’s why I went with the Tunze in-tank model. Maybe now there are some HOB models that don’t have this potential overflow risk, or maybe there are work arounds that I just didn’t explore.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I've been running a fluval 306 canister filter with marinepure bio balls, phosban, and purigen. Plumbed into a diy chaeto reactor. And a hob octopus classic 100 protein skimmer. All on a 60 gal

I have been running a similar setup on my 306 and 40g for the past 18 months. I have been running Bio-home Ultimate in the bottom two trays, and twin 11oz pouches of Chemipure Blue and two 100g bags of Purigen. Once a month I clean the filter sponges in tank water just pulled from a change, and replace the chemipure pouches and swap out the purigen with freshly regenerated ones.

The biggest thing to keep in mind when running sumpless is you HAVE to stay on a regular water change schedule. If you don't you will have issues with nutrient build up.