Sump in different room??

tonydig11 · Nov 3, 2020

I am in the middle of my 180 build and had a thought. My Master closet is behind the wall the tank sits on. I already set up my water mixing station there and will use my RO container as my ATO reservoir. So my thought was to place my Trigger Systems cr44 in the closet as well ( it is a big closet) and run the plumbing through the wall.

Is there any real benefit or down side in doing this??

ca1ore · Nov 3, 2020

Benefit would potentially be ease of access; downside is a little more complexity and holes that eventually you will need to patch.

John08007 · Nov 3, 2020

What would you gain by doing this? Extra room under your tank? What would be your reason? I don't see tge benefit unless you're gonna have zo much equipment that it doesn't fit under the tank

New&no clue · Nov 3, 2020

The benefits I see are;
1. More room for equipment.
2. Ease of access, your not down on the floor under your tank
3. Larger sump as under your tank the sump size is limited
4. Easy ATO and WC access as your mixing station is right there.

The downside would be;
1. Extra pumping
2.Are there clothes in the closet? IMO I wouldn't want a sump in the same room as my clothes.

JoshH · Nov 3, 2020

Well, some of the benefits for me having my sump in a different room are...

Room for a bigger sump
Easier to upgrade equipment
Room for more equipment
MUCH easier to maintain! Yeah that's a big one, no crawling on your knees to deal with issues or just basic cleaning.
Easier to add a frag system off the main system

Cons for you specifically...

Having flowing salt water in your closet, if you have clothes could impart a musty/saltish smell on all of them.
Holes in the wall as mentioned above
Higher moisture in your closet could cause other more serious issues down the road (should probably vent)
Venting requires a ceiling fan or wall exhaust fan, both of which involve large holes in walls or ceilings
Do you have Carpet in your closet? If so dealing with salt and carpet Is usually a pain which means possibly removing it and replacing it with a more durable floor, again more costs..

Will Wohlers · Nov 9, 2020

I actually just finished my plumbing on a new build and did the exact same thing. You can have a dead silent reef in a room that noise would bother others (not just trickling of water but noise of equipment too such as the masterflex I run on my calcium reactor). IT also gives you out of sight space for things like remote refugiums and frag systems tied to the main display.... hell even quarantine tanks and such. Consider it a mini fish room. Here's some poor pictures from before I finished. Good luck. You'll love the choice you made doing this.
Will

Viking_Reefing · Nov 9, 2020

I would never go back to having the sump under the tank again after having it in a separate room. It’s just so much easier to maintain and gives you much more options in terms of gear etc....crawling around on your knees can go and kick rocks.

I would make sure that you have proper ventilation in that closet or moisture could be a real issue...and don’t use it to store clothes if you decide to place your sump there.