Hypothetical situation.

iamvictor2k · Mar 31, 2012

what would happen if i were to put a 100 gallon sump on a 10 g tank? would i have a cycle? would my coral be damaged? wouldnt it just be better for the 10 g so the perams wouldnt fluctuate as much?

m and m · Mar 31, 2012

Hypothetically if you where to put a 10G on it saying everything was starting fresh you would still have a cycle. Putting it on IMO would be a great big wast of money/time. Few things to keep in mind if you where to do this. Also keep in mind if you dont have a fish room for your sump a 100G sump with a 10G tank on top the stand is going to be awkward so planning how it will look so it appeals best to the eye will be key.

1) A water change would cost alot more due to 10% WC would be 11G compared to a 1g
2) You now need a skimmer for a tank thats 110G
3) You now have to maintain that 100G

Benefits

1) As you mentioned it will be very stable
2) There are not alot of great skimmers for a 10G but for a 110G there are.

returnofsid · Mar 31, 2012

That would completely depend on the live rock you added to the sump. If you added a lot of live rock, that had dead material on it, yes, you'd definitely get a cycle that would probably be large enough to kill everything in your 10 gallon. If you added rock that was already live and healthy, no, you'd have no cycle.

iamvictor2k · Apr 1, 2012

m and m said:
Hypothetically if you where to put a 10G on it saying everything was starting fresh you would still have a cycle. Putting it on IMO would be a great big wast of money/time. Few things to keep in mind if you where to do this. Also keep in mind if you dont have a fish room for your sump a 100G sump with a 10G tank on top the stand is going to be awkward so planning how it will look so it appeals best to the eye will be key.

1) A water change would cost alot more due to 10% WC would be 11G compared to a 1g
2) You now need a skimmer for a tank thats 110G
3) You now have to maintain that 100G

Benefits

1) As you mentioned it will be very stable
2) There are not alot of great skimmers for a 10G but for a 110G there are.

ok well lets say i had a 10 gallon reef that has been set up and running for a year and wanted to use a water storage container i have in my basement. i hook all the plumbing up mix my new salt put it in the sump make sure the temp is correct and then turned the ball valves open and the pump on. would i have a cycle if i kept my feeding regiment the same?

iamvictor2k · Apr 1, 2012

returnofsid said:
That would completely depend on the live rock you added to the sump. If you added a lot of live rock, that had dead material on it, yes, you'd definitely get a cycle that would probably be large enough to kill everything in your 10 gallon. If you added rock that was already live and healthy, no, you'd have no cycle.

not adding any rock to the sump at all just water storage.

phil519 · Apr 1, 2012

iamvictor2k said:
ok well lets say i had a 10 gallon reef that has been set up and running for a year and wanted to use a water storage container i have in my basement. i hook all the plumbing up mix my new salt put it in the sump make sure the temp is correct and then turned the ball valves open and the pump on. would i have a cycle if i kept my feeding regiment the same?

no cycle.

iamvictor2k · Apr 1, 2012

phil519 said:
no cycle.

can i get any one to second or third that?

ruppertb · Apr 1, 2012

well i will be able to tell you if i get a cycle when i double my system volume. I have never had issues before with this. Once before I added about 50 more gallons of water volume to my 75gal system with no ill effects. so we will see what happens with 100gal+ in the next week!

Loki · Apr 1, 2012

A cycle occurs when you have an introduction of ammonia (dead stuff) that then gets broken down by bacteria and the cycle begins. If the water container is clean, the water is good, and you have fresh salt (no dead rats in it lol) there shouldn't be a cycle. I think the idea of a huge sump on a tank is a good idea. But it will make a lot more work for you. The levels could be maintained easier and a swing to the dark side could be detected way sooner.

Recap: just fresh saltwater shouldn't cause a cycle. I would just make sure and clean the container out with RODI very well

Reef Breeders · Apr 1, 2012

No cycle... If you add absolutely nothing for a pretty long time, at least a few months. If you went ahead and added a tang for the big tank, it would likely cause a cycle. If you overfed, or only had the liverock from a ten gallon tank in the large tank, you would likely cycle when you upped the bioload. If you add a bacteria supplement, and established liverock, and a large skimmer and refugium, you may be able to avoid a cycle.

BCT182 · Apr 1, 2012

It would be kinda funny. Put 15-20 chromis in there and post a video on YouTube. You would probably get a lot of death threats! LOL.

Eggs · Apr 1, 2012

I think your big concern would be matching water parameters of the new sump water to the established tank water. Essentially, you would be doing a 100% water change.