What Would You Do?

[izoid]

I currently have a 120g reef with a sump in the stand. The sump runs at about 17 gallons and cannot be removed from under the tank.

I also have a 40g long that I can set up as an remote sump/fuge or just a fuge. If I do it as a fuge it will be gravity fed back to the sump in the stand.

I like the idea of a remote sump as it will make the skimmer easily accessible and will be quieter in the DT room. I also really like the idea of a fuge running about 30 to 35 gallons but this introduce more risk of floods. What would you recommend?

 

[jef4y]

I would look at why that 17 gallon sump couldn't be removed and find a way around it =)

 

[oil_fan]

Definitely go with the remote sump. I did that downstairs with my 95 gallon tank. I have the sump in the storage room and it is sooo easy doing water changes and such. I can do a quick 10 gallon water change, clean out the skimmer, swap filter socks in about 30 minutes. So much faster than working on my 65 gallon where the sump is underneath.

Let me add, that you could bypass the 17 gallon sump all together. Just redo the plumbing so it drains to the 40 gallon and then pump it back from there.

 

[izoid]

Oil_Fan;679978 wrote: Definitely go with the remote sump. I did that downstairs with my 95 gallon tank. I have the sump in the storage room and it is sooo easy doing water changes and such. I can do a quick 10 gallon water change, clean out the skimmer, swap filter socks in about 30 minutes. So much faster than working on my 65 gallon where the sump is underneath.

Let me add, that you could bypass the 17 gallon sump all together. Just redo the plumbing so it drains to the 40 gallon and then pump it back from there.

This is my thinking also.

What I struggle with is the sump I have would be wasted and the remote fuge idea would add a lot of water to the system.

 

[oil_fan]

To add to the details for what I did with my 95 gallon:

Re-plumbed the whole tank including cutting holes into the wall to allow for the piping. I even painted the PVC that was visible in the main room black to so it's wasn't noticeable.

Created 3 main sections on the 40 gallon breeder tank that I bought used. Left side is the main section where most of the water drains to. In this section is the skimmer, 2 heaters, a GFO/carbon reactor and of course the filter sock. On the right side is my fuge/DSB. Basically the drain is spit into 2 with just a bit water flow to the right side. I have a 5500k CF light there that comes on at night to grow macro algae. The center section has some LR rubble and the return pump.

Not counting the skimmer or reactor, I probably paid about $100 in materials to do the whole thing. Maybe a touch more now that I have 3 filter socks. Ok maybe another $40 to run electrical to that area of my storage room that a friend did for me.

The biggest issue is planning the whole thing out. Figuring out how to do the piping and the routing it needs to be. I'm still amazed I got the whole thing working. :thumbs:

 

[smoothie]

PM jaustin. He has a nice fuge/sump setup with his 120