To sump or not to sump

[dragoncube]

My current situation does not allow me to have a big setup yet, and I am eager to get back into reefing. So I thought of starting a nano setup.

I guess one of the controversies is should nano setup have a sump. Personally I am incline to have one, in fact I would like to setup all the gear: chiller, ca reactor, skimmer, refugium, etc. Will like to find out if there are miniature versions of the equipment available now.

I am thinking of something in line with ADA products but for reefing. ADA products have range for small setup, and are ultra nice, but also ultra expensive. Sadly when I was reefing there was no such equivalent for nano reef.

[tofubox]

Hi dragoncube, welcome back to reefing! I guess ultimately it also depends on what u plan on keeping. If soft corals/ zoas, u can use basic filtration with hang on skimmer if required. If you looking to keep sps, LPS, anemones etc, a sump will be really be nice to incorporate all the extra gear u will require as well as increase the total volume of your nano to get more stable parameters.

Plenty of nano equipment are available now, look at 2 part dosing for nano instead of calcium reactor, its a good alternative for a nano as ca/alk may not be as demanding.

Couple of nice nano skimmers, espically those hang on board ones like BM qq, bm Nac 3.5 (in sump), reef octopus BH1000/2000, Redsea prizm, Deltec mce300 etc etc.

Jebao has the wp10 which is a great wavemaker and highly affordable.

Plenty of nice options of lightset now on the market as well.

Couple of nice mini reactors for biopellets / carbon / phosphate remover availble too, like the reeftech minireactors.

[dragoncube]

Thanks for the info. I used to be a rather crazy reefer and have quite a fair number of skimmers from the cheap weipros to a taller than me Beckett skimmers (Beckett no longer popular now?). Prizm looks nice but not that effective.

I probably need to design my own nano/sump setup. It's all so exciting....

[tofubox]

Thats the best part of reefing in my opinion

[james72]

I think you will definitely appreciate a sump even if its just for the increase in water volume, you are a lao jiao, you should know why

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[dragoncube]

True enough. Another reason I want to setup a nano is that I will use the setup as a quarantine setup when I get my main tank up. I thought I start with a nano first to ease my "reefing itch".

[moonwater]

I would go with a sump too, had a JBJ nanocube years back, drove me crazy without a sump lol, not enough space for anything...

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[dragoncube]

I would go with a sump too, had a JBJ nanocube years back, drove me crazy without a sump lol, not enough space for anything...

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Guess have to go for one. Was researching on HOB equipments, and not as fancy as the ADA planted tank equivalent. Now zeroing in onto the list of equipment for the setup.

[diki88]

Guess have to go for one. Was researching on HOB equipments, and not as fancy as the ADA planted tank equivalent. Now zeroing in onto the list of equipment for the setup.

Bro when u do come up with the sump design I would also be interested to see as im facing the dilemma of sump or no sump eventho I know the pros and cons.

[dragoncube]

Bro when u do come up with the sump design I would also be interested to see as im facing the dilemma of sump or no sump eventho I know the pros and cons.

sure, we can discuss and improve on the ideas. But I am not in a rush, and taking things slowly. Hope you dont mind my slow response.

[tofubox]

Bro, if u looking for an ada tank equivalent, can check out ANS optic clear tanks from east ocean. They got an online shop tour

Only problem with such tanks, u need to diy overflow =D, looks nice with a lily pipe return though. Was thinking of setting up one.

[dragoncube]

Bro, if u looking for an ada tank equivalent, can check out ANS optic clear tanks from east ocean. They got an online shop tour

Only problem with such tanks, u need to diy overflow =D, looks nice with a lily pipe return though. Was thinking of setting up one.

Thank you for the link. I am not that keen with an overflow box. Although I have a method that will ensure that the syphon will never break, I prefer an internal overflow with a large pipe.

[dragoncube]

Plus I will need a higher tank if I want to create a standing wave in the tank right?

[Ken_ng]

Thank you for the link. I am not that keen with an overflow box. Although I have a method that will ensure that the syphon will never break, I prefer an internal overflow with a large pipe.

Bro

Why not build your own overflow pipe?

I built one myself and it was relatively simple and straight forward.

It auto restarts after the pump is repowered..

I've been running it for about 2 months now and it has never broke siphon.

The down side is that it looks ugly. But if you can scape well and obscure the pipes, it's definitely cheaper and simpler!

[BC82]

Bro, can share the design? Wanna do my own tank with overflow.

Bro Why not build your own overflow pipe? I built one myself and it was relatively simple and straight forward. It auto restarts after the pump is repowered.. I've been running it for about 2 months now and it has never broke siphon. The down side is that it looks ugly. But if you can scape well and obscure the pipes, it's definitely cheaper and simpler!

[Ken_ng]

Share design ah? I got help from seniors here too!

Just go to YouTube and search for DIY overflow pipe. There are a lot of designs and ways to build one.

If you want to try and play with one first, I can lend you one that I built with a 0.5inch pipe. The flow was too slow for my return pump.

So now it's just sitting around.