New sump Questions

[Yamyort]

OK I'm setting my 180 gallon reef ready tank a few of yall have helped me with already.I decided to just buy a sump to make sure it functions correct for my discus to be healthy as possible.Most all I ordered has arrived but still waiting on a few things.I bought an eshopps wd-300 that was recommended from several sump companies as a good one for fresh water.I bought a reef octopus varios 8 DC pump with 2700 gph which is more then I need but comes with a controller that adjust the output level main reason I bought it.I bought a finnex 800 watt heater with digital controller claims heats up to 240 gallons.I bought two 72 inch beams work led lights 72" DA 180 176x - 8000 lumen 102x 10000K, 32x Actinic, 22x Red, 26x Green,bought 2 because was afraid 1 wouldnt be enough light.Will be plumbing it all this week.Have a few questions already

1 only using one return pump does that mean I should try to center the pump between each over flow box best i can or regulate each side with gate valves?
2 What else should I put in sump along with the bio balls?
3 place heater in sump or tank?
4 Is there such thing as to much light?
5 plenty more ???? Coming
Thanks as always yall are so helpful put sump pic up just so you see what it is

[Ryan925]

That will not have room for much else. That is a wet/dry and not really a sump. The water level will only be a few inches deep is it will sit below the level of the bio balls. The design is for the bio balls to be emerged.

Absolutely yes there can be too much light. Discus are not fond of really bright light but can adjust. Too much light can and will cause you algae issues

[Jenene]

Ryan is right the bio balls take up a lot of room in the wet/dry. I have a regular Eshopps sump with a refugium compartment so I am not sure how much water sits in the return part of your filter. If there is enough water to fit the heater in there are a few reasons why I am thinking of moving my heaters to the main tank. #1 if you turn the filter off during feeding and forget to turn it back on which will happen unless you have it on some kind of timer- the fish will get chilly. I have done this more times than I am willing to admit. It always happens when I am too lazy to set a timer. I have been using Alexa lately for that. #2 if you forget to turn the filter off during tank cleaning and the return area runs dry you will burn the heater out and burn anything in contact with the heater. I burned through a nice Eheim pump a few months ago. So I guess what I am getting at it IMO it is safer to put it in the tank if you have the same kind of distracted focus that I do. I may try sticking it in the cornerflow and seeing if it can heat well from in there so it will remain invisible. 800 watts will be a big heater though- will it even fit? The water minimum water level lines on those are pretty high. Good luck with the rest of the set up!

[Yamyort]

OK heater in the tank for sure.So Ryan should I return this eshopps? Thanks for the help also Jenene.Any opions on the lights?

[Neptune]

I would return it. One of the big advantages of a sump vs wet/dry is you gain water volume.
Also, with that filter you aren't doing any mechanical filtering to keep your water nice and clear.
And, with a sump, you really can move your heaters out of the tank.

Yep, too much light will cause lots of problems. Do you have plants in the tank? If no, error on the low side of light.

[Ryan925]

OK heater in the tank for sure.So Ryan should I return this eshopps? Thanks for the help also Jenene.Any opions on the lights?

You don't necessarily have to return it. That is a huge amount of bio filtration with that amount of bio balls in a wet/dry however as I and Neptune have said you won't have the options as you would with an actual sump.

Having just a wet/dry you don't have much option with other media and don't have the added volume of a sump. Also a sump will allow you to move most everything else out of your tank. With that wet/dry your water level will be so low you wouldn't be able to put much else in it.

If you were to use that wet/dry you would need to be sure and have good mechanical media on top of the drip plate. I think those are designed to fit some.

I am not saying that what you ordered won't work but it doesn't have all the options and benefits of an actual sump

I just finished building my sump. I do have a wet/dry section but I also have a lot of room for submerged media, heaters, mech and reactor pump.

Most of the pre fab sumps are designed for reef use and aren't the most practical for FW. Just ask Jenene.

Building your own is not as daunting of a task as it would seem. For the price of what the pre fab ones cost you can build one for far less and have it for your exact needs

[farebox]

Amen to what Ryan925 stated. I have an 20G long as my sump. Did some research on freshwater diy sumps for discus tank and came with a way to keep my tank water crystal clear and kept everything simple.

[Yamyort]

Thanks for the replies. Air pump?? for the 180g anything specific? Does it need to be large? I really want quiet if possible. Any ideas??thanks again

[Ryan925]

Thanks for the replies. Air pump?? for the 180g anything specific? Does it need to be large? I really want quiet if possible. Any ideas??thanks again

Are you going with that wet/dry or decided to change? Air pump may not be needed. You should have plenty of gas exchange with the overflow and sump

[Yamyort]

Yes after reading some more I decided to give the wet/dry a try and see how it does I don't care about hiding my equipment in the sump only about healthy discus and clear water,so I'm really hoping this will do the job.So you think no air pump with the wet/dry?And thanks for always helping Ryan

[Ryan925]

Yes after reading some more I decided to give the wet/dry a try and see how it does I don't care about hiding my equipment in the sump only about healthy discus and clear water,so I'm really hoping this will do the job.So you think no air pump with the wet/dry?And thanks for always helping Ryan

One of the big benefits to wet/dry is the gas exchange. I actually built my sump with a wet/dry section. I haven't put it into action yet but I am planning no air stone.

As mentioned before make sure you have some really good mechanical filtration before the bio balls. Many will say bio balls can be a nitrate factory but if you have really good mechanical filtration to keep them clean it shouldn't be an issue

[Yamyort]

The top black sections have a 1/4 thick filter pads in them so there's room in there for other media and also I guess I could take out some of the bio balls and put some media above or below them. What you think?I was thinking of putting 2 of the 1/4 inch pads in there so I could replace one and add a new one and flip flop them to not loose my good bacteria

[Ryan925]

The top black sections have a 1/4 thick filter pads in them so there's room in there for other media and also I guess I could take out some of the bio balls and put some media above or below them. What you think?I was thinking of putting 2 of the 1/4 inch pads in there so I could replace one and add a new one and flip flop them to not loose my good bacteria

Ok that's what I thought. I'd make sure and have plenty of spare to swap them out. You will have to see how quickly they het clogged up. I wouldn't worry about losing bb on the mechanical. Bio balls have massive surface area for bb.

[Neptune]

What happens in that black area if filter media like a pad plugs up?

I would cut two 1" thick poret foam squares and put them under the bio balls. The top sheet of poret would have a larger pore size and then a finer pore size under it. I would do that in both chambers. That would make a nice system!

[Ryan925]

What happens in that black area if filter media like a pad plugs up?

I would cut two 1" thick poret foam squares and put them under the bio balls. The top sheet of poret would have a larger pore size and then a finer pore size under it. I would do that in both chambers. That would make a nice system!

Good call. I wonder if the tray can fit a 1" thick piece of poret. I too would worry of overflow. I am using 10,20,30 ppi in my intake box but I drilled some emergency overflow holes that will drain into sump