Custom Aquariums First Time Sump For Dummies

[kimberly]

When I sprung a leak with the Marineland 60 gallon tank, I started looking elsewhere for a tank.

If I buy one from Custom Aquariums, then I will pay more but have a lifetime warranty plus a sump set up all in one. Has anyone bought one from there?

Since I watched the videos of all the work involved, I learned a lot, but no one mentioned a simple dumb question... How often do you change the water in a say 55 gallon tank with a sump?

I noticed it is important to clean out the substrate underneath once a month...

[Jack L]

for Discus? a lot, same as any other Discus tank. and if its for Discus, 55 is on small side.
the sump doesn't change the need for water changes.

[kimberly]

Thanks

When I mentioned my discus, I meant that I have 6 small to medium ones, and I am looking to buy something that I can manage water changes.

So you're saying that I would still have to do a 50%-60% water change each day on top of the sump cleaning below every once a month?





for Discus? a lot, same as any other Discus tank. and if its for Discus, 55 is on small side.
the sump doesn't change the need for water changes.

[DatDiscusDude]

Yes that is correct. The sump is just a filter like any other. Especially with small to medium fish the need for water changes is that much higher. The sump just provides you more water volume. A place to stash gadgets and equipment.

I would also highly recomend cleaning that sump more than once a month. It's basically a mini aquarium under your main aquarium. Your water quality is going to be as clean as that sump is. You can change your water daily but if the sump is gross and nasty then so will your water as it passes and cycles through. The sump will get filled w debris and gunk. To keep down on my sump maintence I clean a lot of that out with my water changes. I get my hose in there and drain it 50% -100%. I wipe down the sump walls. Makes for nice clean water and a clean tank. But it is work like any filter.

If you want minimal work on filters then you would be better suited for regular sponges or a simple HOB. In my olinion

[Neptune]

I tear my sump apart at least every other month for a complete cleaning.

[Ryan925]

I tear my sump apart at least every other month for a complete cleaning.

I would say that would be more on parr. I don't see why a sumo should be getting full of gunk and nastiness if there is good mechanical pre-filtration. Sumps are not only for added water volume but also should require less maintenance than other types of filters. Plus you have so many options for media and can really customize to your needs

[alron2]

I would think if you had socks on the input and could clean them often enough to keep them from overflowing you would rarely need to clean out the rest of the sump. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Ron

[DatDiscusDude]

I would think if you had socks on the input and could clean them often enough to keep them from overflowing you would rarely need to clean out the rest of the sump. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Ron

You are wrong and have been corrected Ron!! LOL

No no, kidding, but I have 2 - 200 micron socks I believe on my sump and I still gather some debris here and there that is why I always vac the sump a bit to make sure nothing is floating... Hey I could be doing something wrong myself, just my experience.

[Jenene]

Stuff really does get by my pre-filter. I never knew how dirty the sump was just by looking at it. The grime can easily hide in the media. Once I thought it was clean but pulled the media and it was disgusting. Then I went in too often disturbing everything not realizing until I pulled everything out that it was still pretty clean. I now put some white filter floss in as a water polisher in the media section and just watch to see when it starts to look tan I know it is time to go in and check things out. With just a quick glance I can get an idea of the condition of the sump.

[Jack L]

i clean mine much less.
underneath the final biofliter (matrix) there is what i call baterial poo, others maybe call it mulm.
i've had to clean my poret about every 6 months.

i've been tweaking my sump to be LESS maintenance, but i'm not one to clean any of this stuff unless its becomes a blockage issue.

[gordo33]

I have a 30 gal sump running for 6 months and clean it every 3 weeks . It is amazing how much accumulates in the the pads. Right now my tank is lightly stocked. 6 discus in a 125 gal. Looking at the sump water and display tank you would never know how much junk is trapped in the pads. I tried 200 micron socks but they were clogging too fast. It seems the main theme on Simply is water quality via large water changes and BB to minimize muck build up. So why have a sump with pads trapping detritus and building up for a month or more. The water is passing through this and returning to the tank. Doesn't this defeat the large water changes and having a BB display tank? If the sump was a canister how often would you clean it? The sump is basically a large canister giving you more water volume. (And a place to hide equipment )

[Coffee1stLife2nd]

do you just clean sections of the sump at a time? if you cleaned it all at once wouldn't you have to go through another cycle?

[Jack L]

do you just clean sections of the sump at a time? if you cleaned it all at once wouldn't you have to go through another cycle?

depends of your definition of clean....

[JBurgo]

I run sumps and a canister on different tanks. In my experience the canister by far takes the most maintenance, and gets dirtier because the detritus finds it's way through all the media.

If you change out your mechanical filtration regularly, your sump stays pretty clean. I would recommend no bio-sponges, my bio-sponges are mulm factories and I'll be getting rid of them. Jack's sump is amazing, but I think it's probably too complicated for everybody's taste, although it's been an inspiration to me in a lot of ways. The progression of my sump is here: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?127767-8-foot-Wild-Tank-and-Sump-plus-Water-Changes

You need to make everything accessible and easily removable for a quick rinse of the bio and a syphon (or vac) out of any mulm underneath, as necessitated by your degree of mechanical filtration /bacterial activity. Some sumps are clutter factories, and this makes a cleaning regime a chore. Get a sump with lots of space and accessibility. And get excellent mechanical filtration and clean it regularly.

[Jack L]

I have a 30 gal sump running for 6 months and clean it every 3 weeks . It is amazing how much accumulates in the the pads. Right now my tank is lightly stocked. 6 discus in a 125 gal. Looking at the sump water and display tank you would never know how much junk is trapped in the pads. I tried 200 micron socks but they were clogging too fast. It seems the main theme on Simply is water quality via large water changes and BB to minimize muck build up. So why have a sump with pads trapping detritus and building up for a month or more. The water is passing through this and returning to the tank. Doesn't this defeat the large water changes and having a BB display tank? If the sump was a canister how often would you clean it? The sump is basically a large canister giving you more water volume. (And a place to hide equipment )

if you are a person that is doing later WC daily, then you don't need a filter at all IMHO. but w/o a filter, you HAVE to keep up with WC.

i clean mine when there is a blockage issue, and that time frame can vary depending on what is happening in main tank. e.g. feeding, plant melts, etc.

[farebox]

Every sumps are different designs. I guess you would clean it when it gets dirty looking. My sump I use an 20ppi poret foam pad for prefllter, K-1 micro moving bed filter, next 30ppi poret foam pad, and last a bag of Seachem matrix bio media. So far every six months remove pads and rinse outside. That's all required to keep my sump clean, real simple and easy.....

[gordo33]

i clean mine when there is a blockage issue, and that time frame can vary depending on what is happening in main tank. e.g. feeding, plant melts, etc.
Jack what I am struggling to wrap my head around is what is the difference between build up in substrate in the display tank and build up in the pads in the sump. For some reason it appears that people are less concerned with the sump having a build up in he pads than the same build up in the substrate in the display tank. To combat the build up in the display tank many forum members including myself have switched to a BB display with a sump. Now the water moving thru the pads is going to pull some of the muck and or micro organisms in the pads back into the display tank. Can't believe leaving the pads in the sump for months at a time can be good for the water quality even if the water appears crystal clear.

[JBurgo]

Can't believe leaving the pads in the sump for months at a time can be good for the water quality even if the water appears crystal clear.

I agree. I recently removed one of my Bio Foam Pads after just a few weeks since cleaning them, and it was full of mulm again. And I have very good Mechanical filtration. My Bio Foam Pads are going. And I'd recommend people who have them clean them as often as they change socks (based on what happens in my sump).

[Jack L]

Jack what I am struggling to wrap my head around is what is the difference between build up in substrate in the display tank and build up in the pads in the sump. For some reason it appears that people are less concerned with the sump having a build up in he pads than the same build up in the substrate in the display tank. To combat the build up in the display tank many forum members including myself have switched to a BB display with a sump. Now the water moving thru the pads is going to pull some of the muck and or micro organisms in the pads back into the display tank. Can't believe leaving the pads in the sump for months at a time can be good for the water quality even if the water appears crystal clear.

well...some are pretty fanatical about keeping sumps clean too.

different schools of thought really.

also, some would argue that clear water doesn't mean clean water.

if you want to dig into it a different perspective have a read of
diana walstad ecology of the planted aquarium

[kimberly]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful information.
Do you all still do 50-70% water changes a day?
I am thinking of getting a 60 gallon tank with a sump from Custom Aquariums for over $2,000.

[DatDiscusDude]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful information.
Do you all still do 50-70% water changes a day?
I am thinking of getting a 60 gallon tank with a sump from Custom Aquariums for over $2,000.

I do WC's every other day typically...

Can you do any bigger? 2 grand for a 60 gallon tank and sump sounds awfully steep...?

[Jack L]

Agreed

[Ryan925]

Every sumps are different designs. I guess you would clean it when it gets dirty looking. My sump I use an 20ppi poret foam pad for prefllter, K-1 micro moving bed filter, next 30ppi poret foam pad, and last a bag of Seachem matrix bio media. So far every six months remove pads and rinse outside. That's all required to keep my sump clean, real simple and easy.....

That's good to hear. I am building my sump now. Using 10 and 20 ppi on my sump first chamber then 30 on the wet/dry drip plate before return chamber

[alron2]

Fifty years ago my friends that kept salt water tanks all had under gravel filters. When I asked about all the waste building up in the gravel bed they explained that once the nitrogen cycle had broken down the waste it was inert and did not hurt anything. Maybe that is what is happening in thep sump. What do you think?
Ron