Sump Selection Help

[Camel-Walk]

Hi, new(er) to the hobby...
Been without a tank for about 5 years, I had a 38G IM Nuvo.

I'm somewhat set on buying a 93G Marineland Cube, and the LFS I'm going to grab it from sells like "Companion" sumps.
It's acrylic, has the chambers, etc.

So, I guess my question is, this sump is listed at $399
Why can't I just use like a $30 Petco 20 gallon tank as the sump and save heaps of money? Doesn't it essentially function the same, or am I missing something?

The guy at the LFS said that a glass sump can crack due to the constant pressure coming in and out, but is that the only reason?

 

[theMeat]

Regular glass tank with diy baffles is totally doable. The bigger the better. But not too tall

 

[Spare time]

Plenty of people use glass tanks as sumps and there are baffle kits for them too. I've never heard of one cracking like the guy at the lfs said but then again my lack of seeing that happen doesnt mean it doesnt

 

[Camel-Walk]

I have no idea what a baffling kit is... I'll do some investigating.

Is 20 Gallon sump big enough?

 

[codycolina707]

Hi, new(er) to the hobby...
Been without a tank for about 5 years, I had a 38G IM Nuvo.

I'm somewhat set on buying a 93G Marineland Cube, and the LFS I'm going to grab it from sells like "Companion" sumps.
It's acrylic, has the chambers, etc.

So, I guess my question is, this sump is listed at $399
Why can't I just use like a $30 Petco 20 gallon tank as the sump and save heaps of money? Doesn't it essentially function the same, or am I missing something?

The guy at the LFS said that a glass sump can crack due to the constant pressure coming in and out, but is that the only reason?

idk much about sumps but i highly doubt it being glass changes anything sump at most are half full with lots of added pieces aka baffles that i would think help strengthen the tank

 

[Billdogg]

I have never used anything other than standard glass tanks for my sumps. IMHO, although the ready made acrylic sumps sure are pretty, there is no real advantage to using one. Especially when you take into account their price!

As for a glass sump cracking due to the constant flow of water in and out - what, exactly, do you thing happens in the display tank?

That was advice given by someone who either has no clue whatsoever, or more likely, someone working on commission wanting to pad their paycheck.

 

[ScottB]

Short answer is Yes, you could use a Petco tank for a sump. The purposes for baffles include:

a) Having a place for filter socks to hang
b) Having another place for sediment to settle and be occasionally removed.
c) Having a place for a skimmer that maintains a constant water level
d) Having a place to put your media where the water runs through it (chemical, mechanical)
d) having a separate place for your return pump and auto top off where the water level goes down with evaporation, that then triggers your top off system to replace that water.

Baffles are just little walls in the tank that over/under flow to accomplish these tasks.

Spend some time looking at Trigger Systems (or Bashea or...) website just to get an idea of what sumps try to accomplish. If you have even modest DIY skills you can build something to accomplish the same for much less.

 

[JoshH]

Hi, new(er) to the hobby...
Been without a tank for about 5 years, I had a 38G IM Nuvo.

I'm somewhat set on buying a 93G Marineland Cube, and the LFS I'm going to grab it from sells like "Companion" sumps.
It's acrylic, has the chambers, etc.

So, I guess my question is, this sump is listed at $399
Why can't I just use like a $30 Petco 20 gallon tank as the sump and save heaps of money? Doesn't it essentially function the same, or am I missing something?

The guy at the LFS said that a glass sump can crack due to the constant pressure coming in and out, but is that the only reason?

The only issue with Glass sumps is if you use acrylic baffles that are too snug against the glass, when acrylic gets wet it will expand. If the baffles are tight to the sump walls already the expansion "Could" (And has in the past) crack the glass of the tank walls. Easily avoided by making sure the baffles are cut 1/8" narrower than the tank and using silicone to fill the gap instead.

Other than that, nothing wrong atall with using glass tanks for sumps, general rule of thumb for any sump is the bigger the better, I mean footprint not height. Make sure it's short enough for easy access and maintenance and that's about it.

Bulk Reef Supply has a good video series on different sump setups in there ULM (Ultra Low Maintenance) Tank series, they have 3 different tanks one with a fancy acrylic sump and two with the very same 20 G glass setup you're thinking of. Those will give you an idea of one way to set them up.

 

[Billdogg]

I forgot to add - if you do choose a glass tank, you should use 1/4" glass as the baffles. Any local glass repair shop can cut them for you. My go-to place had the baffles for my current sump (40b for a 120DT) cut to my specs, with edges sanded, the same afternoon I called for them. I spent maybe $30 for them.

I like the flexibility of a DIY sump - make it how you want it - not how someone else thinks it should be, but I'm a DIY everything I can sorta guy. (and also don't like to spend money I don't have too!)