New 120 gal set-up freshwater sump or no sump

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countrygal

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 3, 2012
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Canada
I am purchasing a 120 gal tank, I pick it up tomorrow morning the guy that has it was using it for saltwater and is giving me the sump with it.
The thing is i have no knoweledge of using one is worth it for me to figure it out. Seeing how i am using it for Tropical tank?
 
I personally was always a canister guy much easier to setup and keep running etc

having setup my first sump and seen it running I am currently planning on changing over all my tanks to sump systems, the amount of media you can fit and having everything out of the main tank is much better + having a constant water level is nice, I have also found water changes are easier but mine running multi tanks I think is why a single tank wont make much difference here I don't think. Only negative I can say is if the tanks going inside a bed room or kitchen etc its very loud I found apart from that its win/win!

It is a lot to wrap your head around but well worth it, I also found its not so hard when you get out there and set it up, take your time I spent 4 hours in the plumbing shop freaking out over parts to plumb it. bonus is if his set it up theres not too much to learn also.
 
Well i picked up my tank yesterday and I think I am going to go with the sump, my son is pretty smart with mechanical stuff and what not so I have some help to figure it out.
The only thing we weren't to sure about what size pump should i use it's a 120 gal tank.
 
If you have never had a sump don't set it up with one. If you are aware of the extra cleaning and all the stuff then get a sump. I say fx5 will be a great artillery for it. Easy to clean powerful and lots of options.

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Pump depends on how fast your water drains, find out the bulk head size and pipe sizing then on this site somewhere there is a chart giving gph you want to get a pump higher then this ratio or as close as possible, if higher you will need a ball valve I believe to lower the speed causing the sump to drain, I could be wrong here so maybe someone with more experience can answer/confirm.

I have to disagree with extra cleaning, sure there is more media but if setup right there is little to clean more then a canister sure but thats due to the fact it holds more media which is more of bonus in my eyes then an extra 5-10 minutes to clean.

seeing as its second hand I would call the previous owner and ask what size pump he used just as backup.

Good look and post some pictures please!!! I love seeing setups lol
 
After having both fresh and salt water setups I would say that sumps are the best thing you can do. They get the filtration out of the display tank and under the tank. You have more room for the stuff under there and you increase your water volume. The only bad thing is that you are much more likely to have a spill with an overflow and sump system. You have to have air holes if you loose power so that your tank doesn’t siphon down to the sump and flood it. Also there are ways to make them very quite when running.
 
Use the sump. It's way easier to maintain and lets you hide all your equipment in one place while providing a ton of space for media. There are ways to make the overflows quieter (maybe even silent), so noise might not be an issue if you read up on how to reduce it.

Squirtle919 said:
Pump depends on how fast your water drains, find out the bulk head size and pipe sizing then on this site somewhere there is a chart giving gph you want to get a pump higher then this ratio or as close as possible, if higher you will need a ball valve I believe to lower the speed causing the sump to drain, I could be wrong here so maybe someone with more experience can answer/confirm.

I have to disagree with extra cleaning, sure there is more media but if setup right there is little to clean more then a canister sure but thats due to the fact it holds more media which is more of bonus in my eyes then an extra 5-10 minutes to clean.

seeing as its second hand I would call the previous owner and ask what size pump he used just as backup.

Good look and post some pictures please!!! I love seeing setups lol
Click to expand...

It's the other way around; the pump needs to have a lower gph than the drains or else the sump will run dry and kill the pump.
 
My sump is a whole lot easier to clean than my canisters. I just pull the pad and replace it without even shutting down the sump. A filter sock configuration would probably be even better. Not to mention if a sump is setup well you don't have to pull the thing out from underneath the tank to maintain it like you do a canister. Add the extra oxygen a sump will add to the water and I think sumps are far superior to canisters... when well designed!

Is the main tank drilled? If it is drilled you are in great shape! If it isn't drilled, I would recommend drilling it.
 
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