Sump Recommendations

PorterK · Jul 7, 2018

Hi everyone, I just have a quick question. A friend of mine recently gave me this sump. I am in the process of cleaning it out and repairing a few holes in the middle wall. I should be able to clean it up pretty nicely. That white piece is a piece of acrylic that I haven't sealed in yet, so I could move it anywhere.

I want to put the return pump in the chamber with my skimmer (on the left). On the right will basically just be a filter sock as of right now. Does anyone have any recommendations on what else to do with that space?

I really want to have chaeto in this sump (or something else to control nitrates better), can I just throw that in that chamber?

Right now my tank is on a canister filter, I would really rather have it in this sump though.

As a side note, to the left of that is another 10gal tank that I could potentially use as a refugium, trying to decide between a refigium or ATO. (Experienced opinions here are appreciated too)

mitch91175 · Jul 7, 2018

I’d use the 10 gallon as its own refugium if you can and put the return in the chamber on the right. If not the use it as an ATO if space is an issue so you don’t need another container for ATO. For the chamber on the right you could always divide it and have a chaeto/return section.

redfishbluefish · Jul 7, 2018

I'm not quite sure how you can get away with a return pump in with the skimmer. However, it would appear that you might have enough room to add a baffle to the left of the skimmer and put the return there.

The other thing, where is this sump going? Under the stand? If so, it appears to be rather tall. Will it fit (so that you can still remove the skimmer....especially if you add that extra baffle?)

PorterK · Jul 9, 2018

redfishbluefish said:
I'm not quite sure how you can get away with a return pump in with the skimmer. However, it would appear that you might have enough room to add a baffle to the left of the skimmer and put the return there.

The other thing, where is this sump going? Under the stand? If so, it appears to be rather tall. Will it fit (so that you can still remove the skimmer....especially if you add that extra baffle?)

Yep, I have a good 3-4ft of height under my stand.