# Freshwater sump



## drunkenbeast (Nov 13, 2011)

i did a quick search on the forum and did not find anything besides 1 on building a fw sump so here it goes.

I was on craigslist and found somebody selling a aquafuge which is basically a HOB refrugium which made me start thinking about adding a sump to my tank.

my thoughts of a benefit was this is to add bio filtration / planted / coral/wood as a ph buffer.

for me i have a cichlid tank so plants dont do to well in my tank but i could still have the benefits that plants offer with one, i could use it as a qt tank and just generally add better biological filtration to my tank. my big plan was to add a high PH buffer as i dont have one maybe a section for small bio filter and mostly to add the plants...maybe turn it into a mini tank with some shrimp or something for fun. 

would a HOB like the aquafuge be something that is worthwhile and beneficial to a fw tank or is it overkill? Personally i would like to discuss the benefits of a fw sump as there are some and i think it could really put a tank over the top not to mention just getting rid of things like a heater if the space is available.

the one that I saw was this one CPR-AFLG Premium Aquatics - CPR-AFLG Aquarium Supplies


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

I've been trying to find into on freshwater sumps too, but there's not much out there.
I think I'm going to try a HOB (well really, stand behind the tank, 10" tall sump for a 10" tall tank) using an overflow thingy to get water in the sump and then a regular filter pump to get the water back out into the tank, since I'm not going to be dealing with a huge volume of water.

I've seen some really nice refugium/sumps tanks for cichlid tanks, have you looked at those? That would give you space for more plants and the benefits of a sump...Those salty people do it with their bigger tanks, I've noticed.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I think this will be a neat idea!I see no reason why one couldnt work for a freshwater tank and like you said your fish would get the benefits of plants without you having to worry about a giant mess!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

FW sumps are just as versatile and useful as marine sumps. The only issue is that many FW sumps, due to excessive water circulation, actually "gas out" injected CO2 from a system, much like the waterfall from an HOB power filter would do.

Never heard of an HOB sump until now though. That's pretty sweet, I might have to look into one for my tank(s)


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

They even make HOB wet/dry filters. I like refugiams. The only thing I never really understood about having that plus a large sump that acts basically as a wet/dry filter.....a wet/dry filter is the most efficiant filter out there. Ammonia and nitrites are eliminated like 65% faster than a standard filter. This to me, is sort of what I have my plants for. In other words, unless the ref is pretty large I don't think it is doing much for a big tank unless it is really heavily planted.


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## drunkenbeast (Nov 13, 2011)

it would be about 24" long and 4.5" deep.....its about 5 gals...i think thats plenty of room for a few plants....i think it would be beneficial for any tank obviously not necessary thou


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## TypeYourTextHere (Apr 20, 2011)

I am in the process of incorporating a FW sum p into my system. I have been researching them for about a month and have found that wet/dry filters are the way to go. There are dozens of Youtube videos on the subject. Also, look up HOB overflows.


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## drunkenbeast (Nov 13, 2011)

Ya im thinking its gonna be a good idea to just add that lil extra. gonna have to build my own thou way to expensive.


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## TypeYourTextHere (Apr 20, 2011)

Basically all you need is a tank that is roughly a 20 gallon long for your size tank(minimum). You really need to have a tank that is 25% of your display tank volume and have at least a turn around rate of 3-4x the total volume of the tank. I would suggest making an overflow yourself and if you decide to do a PVC overflow have no less than 1" - 1 1/2" diameter pipe. The DIY PVC overflows cost about $15 - $20 to make. If you need feel free to PM me.


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