Sumps and their price

Bryce M.

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Why are premade sumps so dang pricey? Anyone know why? Anyone upgrade from a DIY to a manufactured one and loved it? Hated it? Anything?
 
Convenience and appearance . I have a pro clear sump. Not as fancy as many of the others out there but it does its job an looks nice doing it
 
I ordered a custom ones from advanced acrylics I like it allot
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It’s a sump .... save some serious coin and make one from a standard aquarium. It’ll give you a sense of accomplishment and you’ll get exactly what you want.
 
Sumps are like underwear;

Some buy the utility brands at Walmart while others go to New York City and purchase designer fashions.
All of them serve a similar purpose, some are better fitting, some are more eye-pleasing, and some are more utilitarian.
Lots of folks don't wear any (they go sump-less in this analogy), and in the end it all comes down to what makes you happy when you go to hide your water handling and waste filtering equipment. I think it is a good idea to hide my equipment, so I have a utilitarian sump that keeps all the heaters, junk, hose rolls, pumps, ect. kind of hidden and tucked away.

I used to use all the low price stuff myself, but I've seen some really hot set-ups with designer builds that look really nice. They are easy to look at and easier to visually appreciate.

If you want to keep your reef for a long time having beautiful equipment isn't a bad upfront investment.
 
One thing often forgotten is a lot of the Fancy colours are actually insanely expensive and can be 3-5 Times the cost of regular acrylic (learned this the hard way when I had my last custom sump built And had to order the acrylic I wanted). Not to mention the man hours involved in making them (Time is money).

I think it really comes down to whether or not you're going to be looking at it all day. For my first build I spent a little extra on a custom one and was planning on keeping it behind the stand door. Once it was installed I couldn't put the door back on it looked just awesome. Sumps (If you have one) are The heart of your entire setup, why not splurge a little and show it off (what's inside it is just as if not more important than what's in your DT).:)
 
Precision Marine custom made sump, pricey .. but i love to have quality stuff .
Been in the hobby for a very long time and i appreciate the beauty in the tank build and equipments
 
Just finished my 40b build and only regret is not having a larger sump. Next tank will be backed up to a fish room.
I ill probably go custom and large like 50% of dt
 
I have a Fiji cube 24 coming tomorrow. Should be a very big improvement over the Tidepool 2 I’ve been running for 15 yrs.
 
Why are premade sumps so dang pricey? Anyone know why? Anyone upgrade from a DIY to a manufactured one and loved it? Hated it? Anything?

Why... Human labor is not cheap, and gross profit is a part of business. These sumps are hand crafted.

I made my entire sump from free glass I got by salvaging glass from a leaking tank on Craigslist. My sump cost me a tube of silicone and time.
 
I have my sump from @Crystal Reef Aquatics -

I spent money because I wanted my setup as good looking below the stand as it would be above the tank.

I made sumps out of glass tanks before. Do they get the job done - absolutely.
My current tank - I wanted to give the “outlook” as much value as Iivestoxk before. So I spent a little more.

CRA product is not only beautiful - it’s functional. They provide area for filter floss or socks. I terchangable. Heater holders. Probe holders. Plumbing and wire management. And most of all. Free shipping. So compared to synergy or other makers. They are technically cheap. Call mike at CRA he will hook you up. No joke.

It’s all about how good you want your setup to look. What’s “worth it” to you may not be for others.
 
I appreciate all the replies, I'm looking at the triton 30 style sump from algae barn or a stealth 30 from crystal reef
 
I’m in the market for a sump for my 40b budget build. I have a trigger sump in my main display and I love it. I have not made my own sump before so I’m having a hard time deciding if I should just splurge and get another acrylic or go the cheaper route. Craigslist is dry with sumps for some reason and this build has some urgency to it since my biocube is slowly leaking...
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%

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