To Sump or Not?

[Arrowheadb95]

I’m new to saltwater and looking for some experienced opinions. fficeffice" />>>
My specifics:
72 gallon glass tank setup three months ago (estimated 55-60 gallons of actual water)1” to 2” of sand with some crushed coral mixed in (wish I hadn’t done this, looks bad) 120lbs of live rock
All levels seem to be good and consistent. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salinity 1.024-1.026, Ph 8.1-8.3, Phosphate .1ppm, Calcium 280ppm (haven’t tried to raise calcium levels yet) & Temperature 76-80
440 watts of VHO lighting about 3” to 4” above water
Water movement via power heads estimated at 755 gph
Modified Sea Clone 150 Skimmer (works a lot better after modifications)
CPR hang on tank Refugium with protein skimmer (Calpurna in refugium)
No coral, two fish (blue damsel & sixline wrasse), about 40 hermit crabs & 30 snails

This was going to be a fish only tank but now I would like to keep some corals or anemones. I’m in the process of making upgrades to accomplish this. Currently, I have a brown/diatom algae problem that I can’t get rid of so I’m working on this while planning my other moves.

My main question is about a sump. Currently, I don’t have one and my tank isn’t drilled. I’ve read all about the benefits of a sump but am having trouble weighing all the alternatives. Which is best in my case? Any other alternatives?

1. Don’t add sump and leave as is
Are the benefits truly worth the hassle or cost of adding a sump?

2. Add sump with hang on tank overflow box
I’ve heard lots of bad stuff about these but it seems like if you have two overflows on a tank it’s pretty safe since it’s unlikely both will fail at the same time. Do these cause air bubbles to get back into the tank? Expensive to add two. Can’t fit that big of a sump into the front door of the tank stand.

3. Tear down and have tank drilled
Big project! Seems safer than hang on tank overflow. Would be able to get larger sump into stand through back. Would have a chance to take out some of the crushed coral. Fish probably wouldn’t like it. I have a tempered bottom so all holes would have to be in the bank panel. I haven’t seen a lot of materials to make good after-the-fact overflows. I would like to make a short shelf overflow near the top of the water level since the holes would be drilled in the back of the tank to leave as much free tank space as possible. Best thing I’ve seen is custom cut glass but it would be clear and would show all the holes in the tank.

Sorry this got so long. Any and all comments are appreciated.

Thanks>>
Brent

[craigGP]

i have a standard 75 gal on a normal store-bought stand and had the same size issue you did with getting it in the door. i had scott from aquatic systems design (olathe, ks) custom make a sump and refuge to fit in the sand. made it in two seperate pieces so they could go in easier, and together add up to more volume than the biggest single tank size that would fit.

i use a lifereef overflow and have had no problems with it as long as you don't break it (mother in law story that i will skip...). the design is pretty much foolproof and never loses prime during a power outage. i use a single tube version, costs about $100, and you don't have to risk breaking your tank during the drilling process.

i really like having the sump to hide the equipment (skimmer, heaters) and the refuge to export nutrients via macroalgae harvest. that would probably help control the cyano outbreak you are having. also stabilizes my pH at night since i have the refuge light cycle opposite the tank lights. i like doing the water changes in the sump so you don't make as much of a mess on the glass from the drips, plus you don't have to fool with moving the lights and such to get to the tank. i even feed into the sump and have the return pump slowly distribute it into the tank. the fish have even figured out the SCWD and know to go to the other end of the tank once the first return switches off.

where in KS do you live?

craig

[tims]

Welcome to TRT!
as craig said , a great place to hide many thing.

take a lot at the sump articles in the FAQ section. tere will be very helpful.
i was very happy going with a sump.mine is a transformed trickle filter. i do use a HOB overflow with U tube. i have not had any trouble with excess air.
if you are thinking about drilling , since you want to change over to corals and not just fish anymore... my suggestions would be..
get some totes to remove the LR and water ( most of it) , lower the level of the water to maybe 1/3 of tank. remove the CC, drill in the back of the tank for over flows and for a CLS (closed Loop System) this will ready increase your flow altogeather. have a sump made ot make one your self first! this can be a 10 or 20 g tank or a tote! it does not have to be glass/acrylic.
if you want to get rid of the substrate and add a sump ,and you dont have a lot in there now. might as well get it done now instead wishing you did later on..

just my 2 penny's worth

[craigGP]

yeah, if you are going to drill it, do it sooner than later. keeping two fish and live rock in temp storage is much easier than having 20 assorted corals involved too...

craig

[BigDaddy]

yeah I like my sump almost as much as the tank itself . I couldn't immagine NOT having a sump... where would I put my skimmer, chiller pump, heater, filters, topoff water, bionic, etc?

[Arrowheadb95]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm in Lawrence Kansas. I'm new to the area and haven't heard of aquatic systems design. I'm assuming you liked their work?

I was pretty set on getting a sump because of all the benefits but then I started reading about the siphon overflow boxes and just about everything was negative so I started second guessing. I figured without having a custom sump made (ie. trying to keep costs down), I'd have to move the tank anyway to get the sump in through the back so why not have the tank drilled.

At this point, I'm going to talk with a LST about drilling and see what the odds of breaking the tank are. I won't have the tank drilled if there is a good chance of breaking. The other option that crossed my mind was to build my own custom sump and construct it inside the stand. That way I could utilize just about all the space and I wouldn't have to move the tank. Down side - I wouldn't be able to test for leaks. Any other bad points to constructing the sump inside the stand?

Thanks again.