Hello all, thought i would try my luck in the saltwater section.

I am currently looking into setting up a sump for my freshwater setup mainly cause its cheaper than a canister filter and i can place any media in the baffles i am guessing so it would act just like a canister anyway.

But my question is, is what i am thinking correct? or are sumps only useful for saltwater setups?

all the information that i have found about sumps and overflow boxes etc are from saltwater sites.

any help would be much appreciated.

I also have posted some questions in the freshwater sections which have gone for several days unanswered as i am begening to wonder if sumps are a saltwater thing: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/making ... 17406.html

Would work, my son is going to do exactly the same in his cichlid tank.

They definately can be used in freshwater, and IMO are better than canisters or any other filters you may use,because they can hold ALOT more filter media, heaters etc can be hidden int hem, instead of in the main tank, they give more water volume and they are easier to clean...

Sumps etc are used in saltwater ALOT more than freshwater, so thats why you find the most info about them on saltwater sites... There are people on this site with freshwater sumps, but for alot of people its just easier to use a canister... Marine people use sumps to hide equipment (alot more in marine than freshwater) and for extra water volume (very valuable in marine) and for extra rock and stuf (rock is the main filtration in a marine tank)

http://www.melevsreef.com , even though its marine, has alot about sumps etc, so might pay to look there...

HTH

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

Above is the best info I've found on sumps etc. A sump would be sweet, you can add a drip tray/water fall over bioballs and have your own wet/dry which is the best type of filtration (and for cheap). You'll also have an overflow which means that the surface will be constantly "skimmed" so you won't get any surface film.

I think salties are more willing to use sumps because plumbing is a more integral part of marine keeping (and skimmers are often sump only - where else can you put it?). Freshwater systems are generally more plug and play; instead of drill, silicone, measure pipes, pvc glue etc as it tends to be with marines. Heaps of people are put off by sumps, there's also a lot of options around them which can make them quite confusing, but they are actually very simple after you get it.

If/when i do another FW setup it will have a sump.

#1 you can hide the heater etc

#2 more water volume, so stocking density can be slightly higher

etc etc

Great!!!!!! thanks for the fast responses. :bounce:

Yes melsreef site is great i have been throught that site the work there is amazing.

I will be making it this weekend then (well at least getting started)

Just one other thing which i was curious about is, has anyone had problems with the return pump heating the water too much (seeing as how they are watercooled)

And do people jsut use pond pumps?

Thanks in advance

I would stick with the a canister filter. They are cheap as chips these days.

If your tank is not predrilled then you will either need to get holes drilled or make an overflow. Lot of hassle. Most tanks are drilled prior to assemble in case the pane gets cracked.

You will be spending $100+ on your return pump plus the materials to make the sump. Aqua One CF1200 will only cost as little as $139.00.

I have lots of perspex lying around and dad gets chloroform from work so we can make the glue just with shavings

and i like the advantage of increasing water volume and trying to do a DIY job is always fun.

So in terms of cost i would be looking at just the return pump. can people recommend brands for these? and aprox costs?

but if its all too hard to do i will probably look at canister filters to do the job, did not realise they were as cheap as that nowadays

its not a hrad job to set up and build a sump, planing should take you the most time.

price wise, keep in mind the cf1200 comes with media and plumbing, there good reliable units and nearly silent, very little risk of leaking etc.

however, sumps have many advantages, i wish i had one back in my freshies days, remember perspex will flex heaps! brace it very well.

which return pump? depends on a few things,

noise, (will it be in the same room as the tank, and is noise an issue in that room)

flow, (what sort of turn over rate are you thinking)

cost, (=reliability)

wattage,

style of connection,

internal or external?

heaps of cheap pumps out there if you just want to try it out and see if its as good as you hope.

I have to agree with Michael and advise going with a canister filter. I love to DIY too, but building an overflow weir is not as easy as Marc Levenson (Melev) makes it look and without a table router it is even harder. Bending the perspex is also a real challenge. That said, I built two of them and they work pretty well. If you plan on going ahead with it, PM me and I will give you a few tips and hopefully you can learn from all of the mistakes I made.

If your tank is pre-drilled, then you won't have to build any weirs, but the return pump (a good one anyway) will cost you as much as a canister filter. Depending on how much water you plan to move, a Resun King 3 or 4 is a (relatively) inexpensive option and will pump heaps of water against decent head but they are pretty noisy. A Laguna pump is a much better option, but pricey and they discontinued their Utility Pump line. I have a Laguna 6 and it is an brilliant pump, but ran me a few hundred bucks, for which I could have bought 2 CF1200 filters.

And don't forget about the grief factor - all important.

If something goes wrong with the canister and it leaks - stupid crappy filter :evil: At least you can blame it....

If something goes wrong with the weir or the sump :oops:

The weir is an accident waiting to happen. It just adds one more factor to a sump system that can go wrong. The less complex the system the better.

If your cannister filter leaks the whole display will empty down to where your intake is, I think a sump is safer. The only things you have to watch are the flow back when the pump is off (which is easy to work out) and that you have a redundancy for the flow being blocked, (which is easily dealt with - the siphon and backup pipe).

They are both really safe, I havent really heard of anyone having issues with either.

how does the siphon and backup pipe work?

just for you jude, hope this answers your question

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/next-vt17376.html?postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

I'm pretty sure Warren runs a sump on his Freshwater tank.

Another bonus with a sump, is that you'll have everything ready for a marine system...(when you come to your senses) :lol: