? Will a 29g tank be a OK sump for a 100g

[avalanche wolf]

I have a 29g tank sitting here that will fit in the stand. How hard is it to make a sump and will a 29g be ok. I need to setup something for a UV

Anyone have plans that i could follow ?

[Geoff]

why do you want a UV? if it is for breaking down organic materials before the skimmer than you are on the right track. if it is for killing parasites, i think you will need to do more research.

as for making a sump. they are very easy. all you need is a tank. that is it. you can add baffles if you want. i would suggest one baffle for the skimmer chamber. this will keep the water level constant where the skimmer is. keeping the skimmate production much more consistant. i would make this baffle the height recommended in the skimmers manual for recommended water level.

if the tank is glass just get HD to cut the glass for you, than silly cone it into place. be carefull not to cut yourself. i also recommend putting a bead of silly cone over the top of the glass baffle to keep from accidentally cutting yourself.

G~

[avalanche wolf]

Originally Posted by Geoff

why do you want a UV? if it is for breaking down organic materials before the skimmer than you are on the right track. if it is for killing parasites, i think you will need to do more research.

~

Now that we have a large tank I really want to get into Corals and Aneomes. it is hard to do when you have a 30g and not a lot of room. I might have to upgrade the lighting but will come to that when i come to that. I just need a place to run a UV out of site of my wife and son who are both Cancer surviors one being with a Skin type. Dont need to take any unessary risks there and what better place than under the tank where no one can see.

I have seen a model of canister/UV but really dont want something that just collects nasty stuff only to have it break down and release other nasty stuff.

Originally Posted by Geoff

as for making a sump. they are very easy. all you need is a tank. that is it. you can add baffles if you want. i would suggest one baffle for the skimmer chamber. this will keep the water level constant where the skimmer is. keeping the skimmate production much more consistant. i would make this baffle the height recommended in the skimmers manual for recommended water level.

I have figured this into the design as well. Should i cut out the Refugium or do it as a while I am at it ? If i do it I made and area for MA and ways to keep it in the tank from running over to the baffles and into the return pump.

Originally Posted by Geoff

if the tank is glass just get HD to cut the glass for you, than silly cone it into place. be carefull not to cut yourself. i also recommend putting a bead of silly cone over the top of the glass baffle to keep from accidentally cutting yourself.
G~

WHEN DID WE MEET ?!?!? How do you know me so well !! lol

[avalanche wolf]

Here are the DIY overflows i am looking at building for the water transfer

[avalanche wolf]

Starting to consider going from a 29g to a 55g for the sump

Just dont know if i can fit it under the stand

[Geoff]

i would not do a refugium. they are not necessary, and they are just something else that needs to be cleaned.

if you are worried about UV light, than why have one at all. they are also not needed on a reef tank. they do some good, but really only when they are plumbed directly into the inlet for the skimmer.

G~

[avalanche wolf]

Trust me i would rather not do a sump , SOOOooo worried aout 100G of salt flooding our downstairs !

Maybe I will stick with what i have.

I mainly wanted a UV after the flake thread with someone saying in order to have that type of a annemome that cleans that water as well. Just trying to get the tank so that when we can start buying corals/ane they will do great in the tank.

[Geoff]

ok, i am going to have to reread that flake food thread.

you do not need a UV sterilizer to keep corals/anemones or anything really. they can be quite usefull if used as a turbocharger for the skimmer, but other than that they are one of the less important of the big purchases you can make for a reef system.

all you need is a big skimmer, a lot of flow, a fair amount of light, and some LR. that is all that is really necessary to have a reef system.

if you have family members that need to keep the UV exposure to an absolute minimum than i would not even risk getting a UV sterilizer for the limited amount of help it do for your tank.

G~

[Geoff]

OK, now i see what you are asking.

aiptasia are not an anemone you want to be keeping. they can quickly take over an entire tank. they can start to sting your other corals and cause these other corals to die back. aiptasia are one of the two most common pest anemones. the other is the mojano. a much more attractive anemone, but still can be troublesome around your purchased corals.

the reason the UV is used in that other thread was to kill the anemone bits before they got back into the display tank. in that thread someone is trying to grow aiptasia in an overflow/sump. aiptasia can spread by various means, one of them is through fragmentation. the UV sterilizer is used to kill any bits of aiptasia that may be floating around in the sump/overflows before getting back into the main tank where all of the corals are.

as long as you are not trying to keep aiptasia as a pet in an area, than you do not need the UV sterilizer.

OK, lets put our thinking caps on for a second. lets buy a $300 UV sterilizer to keep a pest critter.

G~

[avalanche wolf]

GOTCHA !!! Thanks for clearing all that up. The price of being a newb i suppose. lol I didnt relize aiptasia was such a pest !!!

Ya da man ! Thanks for the lesson !

[Geoff]

sorry, it took me so long to figure out what exactly you were trying to do.

G~