# Sump questions from kind of newbie.....



## Francis Drebin (Jun 26, 2012)

Ok guys here goes, I used to have a 45 gallon hex reef aquarium about 8-9 years ago. I had to sell it when I started having to travel for weeks at a time for my work.

I am now looking, very slowly, to get back into the hobby. I am amazed by all the stuff I have forgotten and a lot of the stuff that has changed. In my 45 hex, I used to have a sump to basically hide all the equipment below the tank.

The biggest thing that I have trouble remembering or now understanding is how did I get the flow to equal out? What I mean is the fill line and the return have to the same flow. Too much or too little in one or the other means flooding and I cannot remember how I come up with the correct flow rate.

Now the next question, what the heck is the refugium? This is not something that I remember at all. Why do I need one in my sump? What is required to have one? It appears from some light skimming of the forum that you place some form of algae in it and that would mean you would need to light your sump with a semi-decent light. With my old sump, I just mounted a cheapo light from the hardware store down there so I could see inside my tank cabinet.

I guess it comes down to this, I am going to do a sump. I like being able to hide the different equipment and I also like how it increases the amount of water, lowers the temp, and provides more water movement. I guess if I am going to do a sump, is there any reason not to include the refugium inside of it? Basically, would you have a sump and not have the refugium.

Last one. 8-9 years back, no one had RO units. Now I read on here that they are a necessity. I am a little confused as to why. I was capable of keeping a stunning reef tank with many corals, anemones, and Tangs. I started the tank by buying 5 gallon jugs of water from the local water company and then just used treated tap water. What happened here? Why the need for RO with Di units?

To make things more difficult, my LFS had to close its doors. They said that the internet, Petsmart, and Petco put them out of business. They were a wealth of knowledge and never tried to sell you something that you didn't need. That being said, I don't have them as a resource so I will have to rely on you guys, a book I have ordered, and the internet to complete this task.

I kept aquariums for a long time and just like keeping an aquarium where nothing good happens fast, I will not be flying out the door to throw together a reef aquarium. I am going to do my homework and have a good plan before moving forward.

Thanks in advance for the replies. Sorry for the lengthy post.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

#1- Flow. This will be defined by what you get as an overflow device. It will basically tell you what the GPH though the overflow is. What you need to do is find a pump that will closely match that flow for your return, minus head loss, which will be defined on the pump you get. Or, if you have a Reef Ready tank, ie. already drilled, the 1" holes are for your output lines, and they will cover 600gph, the 3/4" lines are for your returns.

#2-Sump/Fuge- Basic differnce here is, a sump is where you throw all your out of sight thing, heaters, skimmer, Reactors etc. With a Fuge thrown in, this is where you just throw in Live Rock boulders, and or sand, and where you grow macro algae that does a natural filtration for you, and eats up Nitrates, Phosphates and such. I have a fuge, with my heaters in there, skimmer on it, and just Cheato in it. SO, yes, its a benefit to get one big enough to grow macro algae.

#3- RO/DI- 99.99% pure water. I don't know how you were able to keep an Anemone alive in a tank that was topped and water changed using Tap Water, hard to imagine. Soft Corals, Zoas, and some LPS enjoy and thrive better with Nitrates in the water, now most water from the city is horrendous, and has all kinds of crap in it, that would in most instances, kill corals, and especiall Anemones, not saying it wasn't possible, but WOW, hard to do. Nowadays, RO/DI water coupled with marine salt, you add into the system what is needed to get the levels to par or better. Where-as before with city water, who knew where the hell your levels were going to be. AZ water, my Calcium would be well over 500, and LPS, SPS and Clams can have a hard time with CA being that high, not to mention what we know about ALK and Magnesium now. Is it absolutely needed, no. I ran my tank for a long time with tap water, and kept Softies and fish with no issues to them, but I had crap on my rock and sponge and ugly garbage all over the tank that you just wont' get using RO/DI. If you want what you see in pictures, crystal clear water, your better off not fighting the water by adding filters, and Reactors to the mix, RO/DI will make you a happy camper.


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## Francis Drebin (Jun 26, 2012)

Reefing Madness said:


> #1- Flow. This will be defined by what you get as an overflow device. It will basically tell you what the GPH though the overflow is. What you need to do is find a pump that will closely match that flow for your return, minus head loss, which will be defined on the pump you get. Or, if you have a Reef Ready tank, ie. already drilled, the 1" holes are for your output lines, and they will cover 600gph, the 3/4" lines are for your returns.
> 
> #2-Sump/Fuge- Basic differnce here is, a sump is where you throw all your out of sight thing, heaters, skimmer, Reactors etc. With a Fuge thrown in, this is where you just throw in Live Rock boulders, and or sand, and where you grow macro algae that does a natural filtration for you, and eats up Nitrates, Phosphates and such. I have a fuge, with my heaters in there, skimmer on it, and just Cheato in it. SO, yes, its a benefit to get one big enough to grow macro algae.
> 
> #3- RO/DI- 99.99% pure water. I don't know how you were able to keep an Anemone alive in a tank that was topped and water changed using Tap Water, hard to imagine. Soft Corals, Zoas, and some LPS enjoy and thrive better with Nitrates in the water, now most water from the city is horrendous, and has all kinds of crap in it, that would in most instances, kill corals, and especiall Anemones, not saying it wasn't possible, but WOW, hard to do. Nowadays, RO/DI water coupled with marine salt, you add into the system what is needed to get the levels to par or better. Where-as before with city water, who knew where the hell your levels were going to be. AZ water, my Calcium would be well over 500, and LPS, SPS and Clams can have a hard time with CA being that high, not to mention what we know about ALK and Magnesium now. Is it absolutely needed, no. I ran my tank for a long time with tap water, and kept Softies and fish with no issues to them, but I had crap on my rock and sponge and ugly garbage all over the tank that you just wont' get using RO/DI. If you want what you see in pictures, crystal clear water, your better off not fighting the water by adding filters, and Reactors to the mix, RO/DI will make you a happy camper.


Thanks for the info. I have forgotten a ton but would I be crazy to say that I filled my tank with distilled water? If I remember right, I used distilled, or some type of filtered water, but not RO, and had to add a bunch of things to it, not to remove chemicals but to add back in minerals that were lost in the distilling process.

Either way, I have never used RO water before and had a lot of success. I have always been very thorough and very slow to make changes or add things to my aquarium. My wife never understood why I wanted to get a tank and look at rocks for months. LOL

I remember pricing RO units but they were too expensive, now they seem much more reasonable.

Thanks for answering my questions, I am sure they will not be my last.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Distilled Water is another way to go. Most just use that if they have a smaller tank.


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## Kathleen Demers (Jun 27, 2012)

I like this.


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