# Sump for New 180 Gallon Drilled tank, New to Cichlids



## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Hi, first post here, but over 1,000 post on Reef Central  I left Salt Water after being in the hobby for 3 years, as I had 2 tanks going, a 180 drilled reef tank with custom sumps, and a 60 gallon cube. You can see my sump set up I custom made myself on a few of my systems used for both my SW here:











So I've watched just about every You Tube Video on FW sumps, and Seen everyone say not to fully submerge bio balls, but yet I'll see a dozen videos with them fully submerged. I've read/ seen using pot scrubbies, K1 media, and so on. So I want some input before following someone's You Tube Video who maybe wrong to start with.
Before I got into SW tanks, I read over 100 hours, and had 100 post asking questions, before my first SW fish seen water 

My 180 Reef Tank I just bought has dual weirs, and my thoughts were to run a sump in the end, but to get it up and running until I figure out the sump, to run a Fuval FX6
Then , as my bio-load gets larger in a few months, by then I would have the sump design figured out and plumbed , and in the end I would be running a sump with a FX6

I don't mind weekly or bi weekly maintenance , but I'm thinking every few days using something like socks isn't a good idea as I'm to busy through out the week with work

I'll be using a ATO also once the sump gets up and running

As far as Cichlids, this is my first Cichid tank. I haven't decided on which ones yet, as I been spending all my time on the mechanics of the tank. Only reason I'm getting into FW and not SW again, is because I find the colors of the Cichlids beautiful.
I had a 55 gallon FW set up for a few years, before going into SW. Now I been out of the hobby about a year, and just bought the tank over the weekend, along with the stand.

I don't care of the cost of the media, I want to best filtration up front. I've spent $2k alone on the tank and stand new, and have to buy lights, sand, pumps, heaters, a canopy yet, Fuval FX6 and the list goes on. SO I'm sure I'll have thousands into the tank, so I don't care if one media cost $50 up front to buy, over $5.00 worth of BB.

Any help would be appreciate. The tank is a Aqueon 180 Reef tank with Dual Over Flows. The Stand is a Marine Land Monterey with side access panels , and the front opens up on 2 doors to get full access under the display tank for a sump


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Welcome to the forum.

What's your question?


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Welcome aboard.

Are you asking opinions about bio media?


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

There are a number of us using Poret foam in our sumps - IMO this is a fantastic option for filtration. Not all that expensive, lasts a long time, and is available in many porosity and thickness combinations.

Good luck.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Sorry, My question is on the design

Since I have a 6' tank, and it's drilled, on my SW sumps as seen in the videos, I ran a skimmer chamber, and return , and fudge off the return pump to control flow
( See You Tube Links on first post )

I'm not familiar with FW sumps, and want to design and use media without having to redo this again down the road because it wasn't designed correctly

My thought was mechanical stage in the first area where both lines would drain, then bio like K1 media , ceramic rings or something, then a poet sponge and return pump
heaters in the middle chamber to give the water more chance to heat

Anyone have pictures or recommendations on sump design, media for larger tanks such as a 180 Gallon tank?


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Here's sump for 5' 95G planted SA tank: discus, geophagus, corydoras, rummy nose.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Thanks! Petco is having their dollar per gallon sale, I just picked up a 40 breeder
I may go home and measure to see if I can get a 55 under the stand with the bulk heads and plumbing still to fit height wise

I could also drill the 40 Breeder and add a 20 high sideways if needed


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

What about dual sumps, vs one sump and one canister?

I saw sump build here on this forum, and thought of designing something like this :

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=237641&start=30

And then buy a 20 or 29 and let one drain go into that, using K1 media, and return pump

I'll have redundancy on the pumps also ?

Each weir will drain and return into its own sump

I'm guessing doing this , will be tricky to get my high water mark from preventing a over flow ?

Am I over thinking the sump? Just keep the 40 breeder?


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

IME dual filters is better than single filter. Just in case one breaks down, there's still another one. If there's enough space, I choose additional sumps over canister because sump also increases water volume which means more stability.

I also keep a spare submersible pump for my sump.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

I'm a big proponent of keeping things simple. With a pair of sumps, how will you prevent one from overflowing if the returns are slightly uneven in terms of gph? If one was removed, and the power went out, would the remaining sump contain enough volume to prevent a flood?

I forgot to take a picture of how I set mine up but threw together a crude diagram.










The white line below the bioballs is eggcrate, which is supported by 5 pieces of pvc tubing on end, and is about 4" from the bottom of the sump. All 3 chambers are 15x15. The return splits and goes to each end of the tank. Typically, I run the sump with the water level right at the egg crate. The overflows are plumbed into the middle of the chamber, and it pours directly on the foam. There is some spreading of the water and as the foam becomes 'clogged' the water moves outwards. If I recall correctly, I used 2" foam with 30 pore per inch.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

I started a new thread, since now this will be a 90G build

I also designing a sump, I posted the design here of the new sump, on the new build :

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=368002


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