Adrienne Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 Whats peoples opinions on sumps in a planted freshwater tank. Heard today that its not the best idea and an external filter might be a better option. 450 litre tank with most likely discus etc as per some of my other posts. Will have rocks and plants in it for variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 Why is it not a good idea? It all depends on what you want and what you have space for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 i think its to do with co2 etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 Sump should be the best filtration as you can fit much more media in it and have as much water flow as want, just buy bigger pumps. But it is more complex to setup, you either have to drill the tank or make a modified siphon type overflow that needs to be primed. An external cannister is much simpler, stick the pipes into the tank and start it up. Both are very good systems, but the sump should give the best filtration, while the cannister is easier to use. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 i think its to do with co2 etc.. Yes. if you are running a CO2 injection system for the plants then the open flow in the sump will release more of your CO2 than a closed system. Especially so with a wet/dry sump setup which basically rains the water over exposed media. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 a sump is in effect a giant external filter but better you can put more stuff in there to help filtration, heaps of filter wool with out risk of clogging and reducing flow. sump is way better, if you want to go the whole way, you fill up the sump with bio media etc. you can have the same multistage filtering as you would in a canister as you would a sump, just that a sump has a massive return pump, well it would be good to have one, and that is your filtration. in the past i have found that even small particles can be caught in the filterwool of a sump currently i have a 6ft, it used to only have the sump nothing else, and in the sump was 3 internal filters. this kept my water perfect and extremely clear. so clear birds were trying to fly through:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 I've posted under technical the pics etc of the new (secondhand) tank I've purchased. Have a look and let me know what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 hmmm, what if you ran an overflow into a sump, then put the inlet of your canister into teh sump and then the outlet into the tank! it would be double filtration with the best of both worlds! lol though double the cleaning, but hey! it could work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 Canister filters hate running at a headheight.. the outlet and inlet need to be around the same height essentially zero head height due to the siphon forces in the inlet pipe equaling the pressure of the water pushing down in the outlet pipe.. I hate tried to use canister filters to pump water around for water changes and had no luck.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 im getting a big sump made for me around 80 litres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 80 litres is about the size of the one that came with my tank I think - can't be bothered going and measuring , its too hot today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 my new tank i got did have a sump but he was going to have a marine setup but plugged the hole and went for a planted tank and external filter why i dont know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.