In sump fuge or HOB?

[erikjphillips]

Heres the deal. Right now i have a 30gal sump that is not divided. has some sand in the bottom with about 20lbs of live rock. the return pump went so i have the option to rebuild the sump. However, i was wondering what peoples thoughts were on using the HOB method for the fuge and using the sump for a future skimmer and loading up on LR in the sump....thanks ahead of time

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

add a fuge area, a skimmer area, and a return area. What are the dimensions you are working with?

 

[erikjphillips]

30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 18 3/4 are the dimensions of the sump. its below a 75 so i can clearly upgrade to a larger sump provided i can get it under the tank.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Only benefit to a HOB is that you won't have a pump grinding up everything being fed into the tank...pods, etc...

 

[erikjphillips]

Only benefit to a HOB is that you won't have a pump grinding up everything being fed into the tank...pods, etc...

That was one of my thoughts as well....

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I have seen hob fuges work great, but they are harder to acess, and you need so much space behind the tank to fit it, let alone do maintanence in it. IME, a fuge in the sump ia best. I ran (and am running until my upgrade this weekend) a fuge and nothing else under my 90 gallon for a year with good results, so it definitely works good. But I'm not sure about hob, as I have never used an hob fuge. I do remember hob skimmers being a huge PITA. GL with your choice