vresor Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Virtually every all in one has a rear sump/fuge area and Sandeep's style DIY AIO tanks have side or rear sump areas divided off from the main tank. It's a neat and convenient way to hide the heater, pump and floss. It's also an easy place to retro in a small fuge. After looking a many non-AIO nanos posted here on nano-reef.com it occurred to me that most do not have partitions or remote sumps. Circulation is generally driven by submersible powerheads or Korelia-type pumps stuck on the walls. Other than hiding some of the equipment, is there an advantage to the integrated sump that more traditional AGA tanks get around? Did I miss something? Link to comment
dtfleming Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 uHHHHHHHHHH wha. thats the point of an AIO tank, built in filteration. Link to comment
WhiteShark Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 My understanding is that when water evaporates your sump will drain (from evap) before your main display tank will. Therefor you should fill your sump with RO/DI water not the main display. Link to comment
mkregs Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 It does stand for "All In One"...doesn't it?...lol....meaning buy this AIO biotch of a tank cause all you have to do is fill it up with water and plug it in...the tank will take care of the rest (filtration, flow, wash dishes)well not exactly, cause many end up doing some sort of mod or another. What was your question again? Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 My understanding is that when water evaporates your sump will drain (from evap) before your main display tank will. Therefor you should fill your sump with RO/DI water not the main display. wat Link to comment
vresor Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 Confusing, eh? The water level thing is a good point, as is hiding the equipment, but most of the marine aquarists out there still use plain old glass tanks without integrated sumps and they seem to have no problems (other than being able to see their heaters and topping off in the main display area). Maybe I'm looking for significance where there is none. Link to comment
Scott Riemer Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 So you're asking, "Why is an all-in-one, all-in one?" ? Link to comment
jeremai Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Other than hiding some of the equipment, is there an advantage to the integrated sump that more traditional AGA tanks get around? no. Link to comment
vresor Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 I'm converting a 60 gallon FW tank into a reef tank and I'm trying to weigh the value of adding an integrated sump to one end. Link to comment
Scott Riemer Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I'm converting a 60 gallon FW tank into a reef tank and I'm trying to weigh the value of adding an integrated sump to one end. Plumb in a sump in the stand below, IMO. Link to comment
brizhound Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 to answer your question I personally like the sump area because it is a good place to dose the tank and also hide the ugly equipment. But there is no real benefit to having a rear chamber besides filtration and clean look. You can have an all glass tank with a bunch of power heads but you will still have to have some sort of filter just to catch the debris in the water. I know some powerheads have sponges that you can use but they will become nitrate traps and you will have to change them frequently. I'm on the same page as you I hope that help. and its JMO no. Link to comment
Atari Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 sumps let you hide things! I just built a sump for my AGA and the display has such a cleaner look to it. also if you can add a fuge to the sump you can grow Macro witch is good for everything. OH and sumps add water volume. Link to comment
Phixion Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 The AGA way of doing a tank can get ugly with all the HOB stuff. I think that's the astetic advantage that an AIO has. No need for HOB items, and everything is hidden out of view for the most part. Link to comment
vresor Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 That all makes a lot of sense; thank you. At the moment I have two ideas for my 24" deep by 12" wide by 48" long 60 gallon soon-to-be-an-AIO-reef. I have access to large diameter PVC pipe that I could cut to fit the back corners. The tops could be grooved and power heads submerged to create flow. Heaters, top off, floss, etc. could go in the corner chambers. The other idea is a more traditional acrylic or glass divider that would section off 6" or 8" of one end. The corner chambers would be more hidden and the end chamber would allow the fuge to be seen. Pros and cons of each. Link to comment
jeremai Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 That seems way more complicated than an overflow and sump, imo. Link to comment
vresor Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 It is, but it doesn't require drilling the glass and that freaks me out. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.