DodgerDave Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hi everyone! I started reefing about a year ago with a 8 gallon JBJ rimless pico cube. It's time to upgrade, so I'm buying a full set up 30 gallon IM cube. Most of the items I will be getting is 7 months old: 30 gallon IM nanocube tank 30 gallon IM stand Apex jr. w/temp probe PM1 w/pH probe Precision Marine Kalk reactor EB8 JBJ ATO w/Aqualifter WP-10 IM Ghost Midsize Skimmer IM Mini Reactor Razor Nano LED Coralife UV Heater Cooling fans 4 Stage RO/DI unit As you can see, it comes with just about all the equipment that I need. Only upgrade I'll eventually do is to a MP10 and upgraded light system, but that's later down the road. But it doesn't have plumbing for a sump and/or refugium. Main reason I want a sump/refugium is that I don't want to cram all the above equipment into the back chambers, plus want a smooth running and efficient tank. I'm not sure the exact dimensions of the stand, but I'm thinking a 10 gallon sump/refugium would be ok? I'm a super newb with this stuff, so I'm going to need a lot of help... First off, would it be possible to have a "half and half" sump/refugium? I was thinking of a 10 gallon tank that is split in half? Half would hold equipment like heater, skimmer, reactor and other half could hold things like macroalgae. Can this be done? Doing this would require a lot of plumbing right? Does this type of plan cost a lot of money? I see a lot of DIY online, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off....... Not sure if i want to get my tank drilled, so doing a sump/refugium requires a overflow box, piping, and then the actual sump/refugium right? That along with pumps to bring the water back up? Sorry for the long post, but I want to get answers from fellow reefers on this forum. I've asked several questions in this forum and everyone has been so informative and helpful. Thank you so much in advance. FYI - I totally plan on posting this tank the members aquarium thread. I'm super excited about the upgrade from a tiny, but awesome 8 gallon to a 30 gallon! Edit: Obviously hard to tell dimensions from a picture, but a pic of the inside of the stand. The bottom picture has a container just for ATO water.. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 It's not costly at all. It seems overwhelming to do it the first time but it's not that bad. It just might take several trips to the hardware store as you will keep forgetting plumbing parts. Link to comment
vlangel Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 My 36g tank has an overflow box and a 10g sump. I am a 50 something woman and I plumbed and built my sump myself so I know you can do it. I elected to soft plumb with flex tubing as I was incorporating a chiller and a UV sterilizer and flex tubing allows for a little bit of wiggle room so everything doesn't have to be measured as precise. You can do this! Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I'm not sumping mine. Just keep the tank clean Link to comment
DodgerDave Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 My 36g tank has an overflow box and a 10g sump. I am a 50 something woman and I plumbed and built my sump myself so I know you can do it. I elected to soft plumb with flex tubing as I was incorporating a chiller and a UV sterilizer and flex tubing allows for a little bit of wiggle room so everything doesn't have to be measured as precise. You can do this! Awesome stuff! Gives me the motivation to make this happen! That's for chiming in! I'm picking up the tank tomorrow morning, comes complete with livestock. Once I sell/give away just about all the live stock, I'll get new sand and brand new rock formation. Probably going to be a 1-2 month process to sell current livestock and cycle new stuff, so I'll have plenty of time for research. I'm not sumping mine. Just keep the tank clean I'm religious with weekly water changes and tank cleaning, but with the first kid on the way, I want extra insurance just in case life gets too hectic. Link to comment
vlangel Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Yes,you can divide the sump tank in two but most everyone goes for 3 compartments. I think micro bubbles are one reason although with baffles you can probably prevent that from being a problem. I have 3 compartments in my 10g sump. The first is for the display tank to drain into, the 2nd is the fuge and the last compartment is to house my Mag 9.5 return pump. I am able to have filter socks on the drain lines and filter pads before the return pump to catch debris from the DT. Link to comment
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