- I'm Thomas and these are the top five
most frequently asked questions about sumps.
What is a sump?
A sump is basically a container of water
that sits below your aquarium
that's used to house a variety of filtration
and other equipment your reef requires
so that you don't need to put all of that gear
inside of or on the sides of your display tank.
Which keeps things looking much more attractive
by hiding all of the gear underneath the stand.
Sump designs can vary quite a bit.
Some sumps are pretty simple,
while others are much more complex.
But ultimately, they all work the same.
And a sump all on its own doesn't do much at all,
save for some mechanical filtration
if it includes filter socks or a fleece roller.
In order for it to work as a filter for your reef,
you need to add other filtration equipment to it,
like a protein skimmer, a refugium or a media reactor,
just to name a few examples.
Once those other filtration elements are added,
the sump becomes your complete filtration solution
for your reef.
How does a sump work?
Okay, so in its simplest form,
a sump works as a container of water
sitting below the aquarium.
A pump pushes water from that container
up to the aquarium through a tube.
And as the aquarium fills up with water,
it rises until it reaches the overflow,
which is essentially a hole in the aquarium
for the water to exit.
As the water flows through that overflow,
it'll travel through another tube back down to the sump.
For as long as the pump is running, this cycle continues.
And if the pump is stopped,
so will the circulation of water.
It's really that simple.
Some sumps have a lot of baffles
and places for water to go once it enters the sump,
but at the end of the day,
water goes in, it gets pumped back up to the tank
and it just keeps going.
What size sump is best?
So I'm gonna give you two answers here.
The popular answer, and then the practical answer.
I think the most popular answer
that most reefers would agree on
is that you should get the largest sump
that you can fit in the space that you have.
That is based mostly on the fact that a larger sump
adds more water volume to the system,
which means more dilution of waste.
A larger sump also provides more space for equipment
which can make working with that equipment
less cramped and easier to do.
The reality, however, is that there are some sacrifices
that you have to make when you do that.
A larger sump is going to be a larger expense.
And it's going to leave less room in your stand
for other gear like external reactors, dosing containers
or controller boards and power bars.
So practically speaking, what size sump should you aim for?
As long as the sump you're getting
is around 25% of the total volume
of your display tank or larger,
you should have plenty of sump for your setup.
If you want go larger than that, it's totally up to you.
What should you put in a sump?
What you should put in your sump in terms of gear
is gonna depend largely on what method
of reefing you're gonna follow.
So instead of giving you every single option under the sun,
I'm going to give you a list
of the most common setup that reefers finds success with
starting with mechanical filtration.
Filter socks, filter floss, or a fleece roller
all help remove larger particulate and solid waste.
And depending on the sump you choose,
it will more than likely already have
one of those three options already built into it.
Next, a protein skimmer is a versatile piece of filtration
that will remove all sorts of liquid
and tiny particulate waste,
while also adding a lot of gas exchange.
You can also add a refugium or a macroalgae reactor
to provide some natural phosphate and nitrate control.
A lot of reefers tend to add a media reactor
for carbon or similar chemical media to their sump.
You'll also want a heater
for keeping the aquarium temperature stable,
and obviously a return pump
to push water from the sump back up to the tank.
The return pump is the heart of the system.
So make sure you get a reliable one.
And that is just the short list of the most common gear.
You could also add dosing tube holders,
probes from an aquarium controller,
a UV sterilizer, or any other gear
that matches your reefing methodology.
Sky's the limit.
Is a sump better than a canister filter?
When it comes to reefing, I would wager
that the majority of reefers would agree
that a sump is better than a canister filter
for a number of reasons.
A sump provides much more water volume and dilution.
A sump holds all that gear that would otherwise
need to be on the sides or inside of your display tank,
which makes for a very clean
and uncluttered looking aquarium.
A sump has much more space
for much more filter media as well.
A sump and overflow system will also mean
that the water level in the display tank won't change
and that any evaporation will happen in the sump.
So the display is always consistent
and you can put an auto top up on the sump
where it's out of sight.
A sump can also have the filter media swapped
or cleaned while it's still running and circulating water.
And also, a sump is arguably much more versatile
and able to be outfitted with all sorts
of different types of filtration
in a multitude of ways to accommodate
many different methods of reefing.
A canister filter on the other hand, is much more compact
and easier to incorporate on smaller aquariums.
A canister filter typically has a smaller upfront cost.
And a canister filter doesn't require an overflow,
making it easier to install on standard aquariums.
Beyond that, canister filters just don't have
many benefits over a sump
and just really don't get much love in the reefing hobby.
Sumps are by far the most popular option.
Definitely if you include all-in-one tanks with rear sumps.
What is more surprising though
is how many common mistakes people make
with their sumps even though sumps
are so well known and widely used,
especially since they are super easy to avoid.
We've actually got the 20 most common sump mistakes
and how to avoid them right here.
Watch this before you buy a sump
and save yourself from a lot of hassle
(upbeat music)