I guess it depends on the room temperature of your household. If the return pump were to fail and you were to have no flow from your sump to the display tank....the fish/corals can withstand a slight temperature drop.
In the end...it's up to you...I think it also depends on the size of your set-up. Smaller tanks, of course, would drop in temperature quicker than larger tanks...
It's a 29 gallons, so its a wee little tank.
I still don't know about the sump. It sounds like the right move, but the chance of it overflowing scares me a bit. Actually more than a bit. My entertainment center is pretty close to the tank. A small overflow wouldn't get to it, but a 5 gallon overflow could have some SERIOUS consequences.
You really shouldn't have a problem with it overflowing, if you set it up right. Seriously! It's something that we all worry about, but take precautions for!
You will need to drill a small hole in the intake (from the main display). When the water level drops below that point, it sucks in air and breaks the siphon.
The most important thing is to calculate what this volume would be and to be sure that you leave at LEAST this much space in your sump. That's what I meant with not wanting to fill the sump up too high. Sumps should be constructed to be able to sustain a power outage and handle the amount of water from the display to the point of a siphon break.
You will need to drill a small hole in the intake (from the main display). When the water level drops below that point, it sucks in air and breaks the siphon.
You mean on the return right? Cause if he use a overflow box you want it to keep the siphon so when the power comes back on that it will flow water and not overflow the tank.
If you ask me I would drain the tank and get it drilled that is the best way to make sure your tank doesn't over flow and probably the cheapest way to go. I got Diamond drill bit on ebay for like $8 with free shipping and came with a big packet of papers on how to drill a tank and thick glass from Saltydepot on ebay.
Yes, of course, if he's willing to drain the tank (which isn't a huge loss at this point since there are no rocks or sand), that would be the most effective!
I still don't know about the sump. It sounds like the right move, but the chance of it overflowing scares me a bit. Actually more than a bit. My entertainment center is pretty close to the tank. A small overflow wouldn't get to it, but a 5 gallon overflow could have some SERIOUS consequences.
I was also afraid of a sump when I had my 24g nano-cube, but I made sure to get an overflow tank with minimum points of failure - and now I do not worry much at all. The overflow is more floodproof than the siphon or aqualifter type, but if you feel uncomfortable about it, maybe you should just go the HOT or All-In-One route.
Our efforts here are simply to point you in a direction of lower nitrates, sleeker appearance, quieter operation, and a refuge to cultivate critters. You need to provide a way to reduce nitrates in your system, and a skimmer, significant macro growth, DSB are key parts of that solution. With aggressive (25%/week) water changes and smart feedings and good flow, you can do away with one of those items, but not more than one if you want to keep nitrates from eventually climbing.
With that said, I think there is something fascinating about a DIY all-in-one, and something quite pure/modular about a HOT solution, but in the long term, neither will keep nitrates down low enough for corals unless you find a way to reduce nitrates.
Ways of doing this? Hmm. A 29g is 16-18" tall? How about a 4" DSB, an in-tank Tunze Reefpack 200 ($200 - for running carbon and protein skimming), growing some in-tank macro and have 30 lbs of LR, and two Koralia Nanos for flow. Do 5g water changes every week, and use your stand for an 5g auto-top off reservoir. Bang!
Keeping with the sumpless setup, you could also look at products like the 4g HOTCPR Aquafuge, but they wont give you as much fuge real estate as a decent sized sump. Tunze 9002 skimmers are quiet and effective, but new HOTskimmers like this one from Precision Marine ($160) might be worth looking into.
ask and you shall receive. Now, keep in mind, this is for the commercially available U-Tube with directional returns. If you have a lock line return, from PVC plumbing, you simply need to ensure that the directional nozzle is directed upwards, and not set lower in the water column than your sump can handle.
See the drill hole there? Just remember, you can drill it all you want, but if you don't keep it clear of coralline algae, green algae etc. you will still siphon. Same goes for snails blocking the hole, but at that point, what control do you have. If you keep the tube clear of algae, to include film, there's a less likely chance that a snail would want to be up there anyway.
You really shouldn't have a problem with it overflowing, if you set it up right. Seriously! It's something that we all worry about, but take precautions for!
You will need to drill a small hole in the intake (from the main display). When the water level drops below that point, it sucks in air and breaks the siphon.
The most important thing is to calculate what this volume would be and to be sure that you leave at LEAST this much space in your sump. That's what I meant with not wanting to fill the sump up too high. Sumps should be constructed to be able to sustain a power outage and handle the amount of water from the display to the point of a siphon break.
Does this make sense??
I was planning on leaving enough room to allow for some overflow in the event of a power outage. I even had plans to put some sort of plastic dish under the sump to catch the extra water if there wasn't enough room. That's not my main concern. My main concern is if the siphon loses pressure and stops siphoning. Then the return pump keeps returning...and returning...and returning until I have water creeping it's way towards my 46" Bravia.
Yesterday I put in 40 pounds of live sand and 22 pounds of live rock. I figured there are about 23-24 gallons of actual water in the tank when at full capacity. I plan on adding a few more pounds of live rock (4-5), but I found the only two that interested me at that store. The others weren't as pretty and/or they were lame in their shape. So by the end of the week I will have over 1.5 pounds of live sand per gallon of water and 1 pound of live rock per gallon.
I am ordering the protein skimmer today online (since both LFSs close to me feel the need to rob you blind on protein skimmers. ). Right now I have a backpack filter with live rock rubble in it and an empty filter bag. I have the empty bag in to catch up some of the residue from pouring the sand in last night. I plan on taking the bag out this evening when it is fully clear again.
I have literally gone back and forth on the sump like 10 times. It's an hour to hour thing right now. I talked it over with my wife (because we are doing this jointly) and she is against the sump for fear of the overflow. I am sorta for it and I know I could talk her into it IF I have enough facts backing it up, but there are tons of sites and experts who have been at this a long time that have no sump.
Please explain to me what the sump does other than hide your equipment. To me, from what people are saying, it sounds like another fish tank below that just makes your tank bigger. How does the sump act as a filter when it sounds like it's a regular tank? I understand the concept, but if it has live rock and sand (like the main tank) and the same water flows through both of them, what is the difference? I know this will probably sound like a lame question, but I don't get it.
Keeping with the sumpless setup, you could also look at products like the 4g HOTCPR Aquafuge, but they wont give you as much fuge real estate as a decent sized sump.
Now this is interesting. This may be a nice compromise to the sump. It seems sorta like a HOT power filter, only clear. Not much is said about that thing, dows it have an intake pump and then just an overflow thing where the water is pushed back into the main tank naturally? That would be ideal as we wouldn't have to worry about overflow. I have plenty of ruum behind my tank for this sort of contraption. But what sort of things do I put in there to make it worth while as a filter?
I also see that it has one with a Protein skimmer built in? What do you think about that skimmer? Does AquaFuge make solid skimmers? Also, would I need the optional light?
I drilled mine 2/3 full..but would NOT recommend that to anyone else.
). Right now I have a backpack filter with