Sump help

[Tom C.]

Does anyone have any DIY plans or an internet site for sumps? I have a 40 gallon tank and want to make it my sump for my 220 gallon tank. Any ideas?

[YBeNormal]

Does anyone have any DIY plans or an internet site for sumps? I have a 40 gallon tank and want to make it my sump for my 220 gallon tank. Any ideas?

 

There are hundreds of sump plans on the internet. One popular site for designs is Melev's Reef but the actual design depends a lot on what you plan to use the sump for. Do you want to build the sump from scratch using glass or acrylic or modify an old tank for the purpose? I'm in the process of building a new sump now. I'm hardly an expert in this area but I'd be happy to show you what I've done when you drop by this evening.

[Tom C.]

Sounds good. I just bought a sump from seantadez. It is glass. I have quarter inch plexiglass at home that I can cut. I have bio balls and some algae. I wanted to know what size pump you would want to purchase.

[davelin315]

Skip the bioballs in your plans. It really doesn't help out much unless you don't plan on having any rock in your tank. The bioballs are kind of like a substitute for other methods of filtration, or, if you intend on fish only with a whole lot of feeding going on. Otherwise they can be made up for with something else (namely live rock).

 

Bottom line on bioballs is that they are excellent for biological filtration, but only provide two levels of it, ammonia to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate. They don't do anything to remove nitrates as that is anaerobic and bioballs are designed to be aerobic only. Live rock, because it is porous, houses anaerobic bacteria within it that can help to remove nitrates by breaking them down as a food source.

[Tom C.]

I have some black pebbles that I had as a substrate in my freshwater tank (55 gallon). Are there any pro's or cons to adding that to the bottom of the 40 gallon sump? Will little critters that usually grow in the live sand in the sump still thrive in other substrates?

 

The 220 Gallon tank will not have alot of live rock in it. I have about 4 inches of sand/crushed aragonite as a substate in the 220 gallon tank. Im thinking for right now, it will be a fish only tank so I will probably be having to feed different fish, different foods. Currently I have a banded moray, grouper, and trigger which are little kids right now in a 55 gallon tank. I want to move them over to the bigger tank when it finishes cycling. The eel is a very messy eater. What would be a good recommendation for a clean up crew for a 220 gallon? And now that you know what type of fish are going into the 220 would you still recommend that I do not add bioballs?