What size sump set up should I use for a FOWLR tank?

[LunaWolf98]

I'm doing my research before setting up a FOWLR tank. I have a few different options in mind, but all would be using a sump tank in the stand as the primary filtration, and the live rock in the display tank as secondary form of filtration (which I'm not really counting on for much of anything, but know that it should help a little overall). The potential tank sizes I'm currently looking at are:

20g High / 29g / custom made 30g

 

I want to know what the best, or most recommended, size tank would be for my sump. I've found several different kits that can be DIY installed into a tank and set up as I please, which I'm currently looking at. As well as the possibility of getting a ready made sump system like EShopps AR-100 Aqua-Fuge Refugium Sump, or like customaquarium.com's Seamless Sump system, specifically the low profile 23 sump system or the low profile 40 sump system, if I move the refugium to a different shelf in the stand. Fiji Cube makes DIY baffle kits for 20g long tanks as well as 29g tanks, and in theory I could fit either into my stand as I haven't chosen a stand yet.

 

The tank would be moderately stocked, I believe. A pair of clownfish, a mandarin dragonet, very likely some kind of goby such as a sharknose goby or a watchman goby, and possibly hermit crabs and/or snails. I want to keep the system relatively simple, as this will be my first salt-water tank, but not my first aquarium or my largest aquarium ever. I am, however, very set on stocking options except for a clean-up crew such as crabs, snails, or gobies, and am happy to take recommendations there as well. There's a possibility of adding an anemone at some point, likely a bubble tip anemone, but I'd want to make sure my filtration can handle one. What would be my best potential set-up? 

[Tired]

If you want to keep a mandarin dragonet in a nano tank, you're going to need more of a refugium than a sump. They need a huge number of pods, even if they're eating prepared foods, because their guts are set up for them to have a constant supply of highly nutritious foods. 

 

The more water volume, the better, particularly given that you need pod growing space. Pick the biggest option, ideally for both tank and sump, that you can fit. Might wind up overkill if you go big on both, but that won't hurt anything. Plus, a nice large refugium means you can put something cool and non-pod-eating in there, like a calico crab or maybe one of the little frogfish species.

 

Gobies aren't cleanup crew members. Gobies that sand-sift as a major part of their diet eat your beneficial microfauna and then usually starve in small tanks, whereas gobies that sift a little, like watchman gobies, do little to nothing to clean the sand. Any place that tells you gobies are cleanup crew is to be taken with a grain of salt in any other advice it gives.

[LunaWolf98]

9 hours ago, Tired said:

If you want to keep a mandarin dragonet in a nano tank, you're going to need more of a refugium than a sump. They need a huge number of pods, even if they're eating prepared foods, because their guts are set up for them to have a constant supply of highly nutritious foods. 

 

The more water volume, the better, particularly given that you need pod growing space. Pick the biggest option, ideally for both tank and sump, that you can fit. Might wind up overkill if you go big on both, but that won't hurt anything. Plus, a nice large refugium means you can put something cool and non-pod-eating in there, like a calico crab or maybe one of the little frogfish species.

 

Gobies aren't cleanup crew members. Gobies that sand-sift as a major part of their diet eat your beneficial microfauna and then usually starve in small tanks, whereas gobies that sift a little, like watchman gobies, do little to nothing to clean the sand. Any place that tells you gobies are cleanup crew is to be taken with a grain of salt in any other advice it gives.

Thanks for the advice ^^.

I've seen conflicting opinions on gobies, so I wasn't honestly that sure myself. I've heard that some gobies mostly stay on top of the sand and aren't qualified to be called sand-sifters because they don't really sift through the sandbed, just the surface, and heard of other gobies that truly get into the sandbed and sift through it while hunting for food. Several websites have suggested neon gobies and sharknose gobies as tank inhabitants, either just for a pretty tank inhabitant or for clean-up duty, or some of both. I'm not certain about invertebrates yet just because of my complete lack of experience with saltwater in general and my worries about maintaining water quality, as fish are typically more hardy than invertebrates. 

[Tired]

Neon and sharknose gobies may occasionally remove parasites from other fish, as they're cleaners (in the sense that they clean other fish), but you shouldn't have any parasites available for them to remove. 

 

You're correct that some gobies only sift a little, like shrimpgobies, and some sift a lot. You don't want any of the ones that sift a lot, not for a small tank. Any of the shrimpgobies/watchman gobies and the little perching gobies are fine.

[mcarroll]

On 3/4/2023 at 10:30 PM, LunaWolf98 said:

I'm doing my research before setting up a FOWLR tank. I have a few different options in mind, but all would be using a sump tank in the stand as the primary filtration, and the live rock in the display tank as secondary form of filtration (which I'm not really counting on for much of anything, but know that it should help a little overall).

More research!   More books!

 

The sump is not your main filtration – the live rock is.

 

The sump is to house equipment that would normally be in the tank with the rock:  heater, protein skimmer, ATO sensor, etc.

 

I recommend keeping a heater in the main display regardless of whether you use a sump.  

 

That way if there's ever an issue with the return pump, there's no pressure on you that your livestock is immediately at risk from having no heat in the tank.  That strategy also gets you using right-sized heaters, which are ALSO safer in the event there's ever an issue....less risk of overheating a tank with smaller heaters. 

 

On 3/4/2023 at 10:30 PM, LunaWolf98 said:

I want to know what the best, or most recommended, size tank would be for my sump.

Ideally your sump is around the same size as your tank....but any size that will hold enough water for the equipment you want will work fine.

 

Consider using a plain old glass (or acrylic) tank for your sump.  The functionality of baffles is WAY overstated, BTW.

 

How will you be draining the water from your tank into the sump, BTW?

 

On 3/4/2023 at 10:30 PM, LunaWolf98 said:

I want to keep the system relatively simple, as this will be my first salt-water tank, but not my first aquarium or my largest aquarium ever.

If you haven't had a sump-based system before, you might consider building an all-in-one (AIO) tank as your first saltwater system.....definitely simpler without a sump IMO.

 

YOU are the main member of the cleanup crew, BTW.   Your help on cleanup is going to be snails and hermit crabs....or just snails.