Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Hello, I'm new to the boards here and was hoping for a little advice. I'm finally upgrading my refugium and protein skimmer from the original junk ones that came with my tank several years ago. The basic skimmer never works right and the refugium is too small to allow for a better skimmer. My tank is a 72 gal bow front and the refugium that came with it measures 20 x 8 x 15.5. I'm looking at the Eshopps 24x12x16 sump and the Vertex IN-100 out at TBAquatics.com. I don't know anything about refugiums or skimmers and are wondering if these will be compatible and are of good quality. I've heard good things about the Vertex units, but have never heard of the Eshopps brand. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Wade P.S. To tell the truth now I'm not sure if I have a sump or a refugium. What I have uses bio balls if that's any help. The product pictures of the sumps show filter bags and the refugiums show bio balls so I'm just assuming that I have a refugium. Yeah, I'm a noob. Stop laughing! Edited February 23, 2011 by Wade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotaryGeek Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 A sump is just another tank below the main tank that holds equipment. Bioballs are an outdated technology and should probably be removed. Eshopps is a ok brand, and vertex is pretty good, but try to double your water volume to figure out what size skimmerto buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Make sure you can fit that sump in the stand. Bowfront stands tend to be tight. I'd second getting rid of the bioballs in the mean time. Can you post a pic of what you have now? It's possible that maybe you can modify it and make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 here's some pics of my set up. The good is that it's built in and looks great from the front. The bad is that it's built in so I'm stuck with a cramped space in the back. I"m pretty sure I can set the new larger sump caddy corner under the tank. Since my tank is 72 gallons does that mean that the skimmer should be sized for 150 gallons as RotaryGeek suggested or would the 100 be sufficient? BTW, the picture of the sump is odd because the sump is in a plastic container. It's like this because the power went out once and the sump overflowed slightly and flooded the floor. The wife made me put it in a plastic container so if it happened again it would run over on the floor. It has actually saved me twice since:) What do I replace the bio balls with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotaryGeek Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Yeah I would look for something in the 150 range, you will be much happier. And your sump looks fine, just pull out all the bio balls and replace it with rubble rock. A sump has no set way of being right, just needs to do what you want it to do. If it holds your skimmer and heater then it's doing just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm with RG, pull the bioballs, replace with rock or maybe some macro algae(sort of a DIY turf scrubber-Google). The problem with the bowfront, as I alluded to earlier, is getting something in that space would be difficult. The way to test would be to pull the old one out and use a cardboard box of the dimensions you want and see if you can get it in there. From what I've read, most bowfront stands wanting big sumps utilize two part setups connected together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 That's interesting. Does anyone have any pics of a two-part set up they could share? My concern is that the sump I have is not big enough to house the size skimmer that I need. I really appreciate all your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Nice looking "stand" with the wall built out to conform to the curve with the nooks next to the tank. . . . A sump has no set way of being right, just needs to do what you want it to do. . . +1 One nice thing about acrylic sumps is you can drill them out with a hole saw for wood and use bulkhead fittings and PVC to connect them together. Just judging from your picture I'd be inclined to move stuff to the left and right of that middle leg so stuff is more accessible. (Prof can build you a custom sized sump if you're interested.) As far as protein skimmers get one that's easy to clean and work on. Here's an article that's pretty thick reading but didn't find any significant difference between different designs or brands so go with whats affordable (and maybe quiet): http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/1/aafeature2 Regarding your reference to spillage, if you don't have syphon holes on your return lines those might help. I set my max water water line in the sump by running the system, shutting off the return pumps and let water drain back into the sump, if needed I'll add water to fill the sump to a couple inches from the top of the sump then turn the pump(s) back on and mark the side of the sump with the max water line with pumps running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thanks Timfish. That was some heavy reading, but valuable none the less. I didn't realize that you could pump the water to and from the skimmer. I assumed that it had to fit down into the sump which is where my concerns about my sump size were stemming from. It also seems that any reputable brand of skimmer will do, as long as it's quiet:) Well thank you all for all your help. I ordered an RO/DI system earlier this week so I can stop putting tap water back into my tank. It looks like I've got work to do and i'll post some pics of the new setup when it's complete. Thanks again. -Wade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 On a separate note, my tank tends to run on the warm side - around 83 F. I've never needed a heater and at one point bought a chiller to bring it down to 78 F. My chiller died on me so I'm wondering now if I really need it. How warm is too warm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have a Euroreef RS-80 that I am not using. I'll sell it to you for $100. I got it for $350 originally. I used it for a few years and never had a problem with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 You can turn your skimmer into a mini refugium and if not post it in the FS section and I'm sure someone will pick it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Derek, I think that skimmer would be a little undersized for my tank if everything I'm hearing is correct. It looks like I'll need something rated for at least 150 gallons. Thanks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 On a separate note, my tank tends to run on the warm side - around 83 F. I've never needed a heater and at one point bought a chiller to bring it down to 78 F. My chiller died on me so I'm wondering now if I really need it. How warm is too warm? I've seen reef systems running at 87 -88 F without apparent problems but I've personally had issues with some tanks around 84. At 83 F your system is running at the upper limit so while technically you're safe I would advise you to at least get some additional ventilation and fans. Having your tank and filter in a closet I would maybe think about having a chiller outside the closet (not having seen your house I realize this may be unrealistic) to reduce heat build up in the closet. I personally much prefer the safety margin by keeping a system in the 70s. A thought about setting up a PS with pumps moving water to and from the PS - while it's quite doable I try to keep systems as simple as possible and design for pump failure and personally would opt for a PS sitting in a sump. Sooner or later a pump will fail or power will fail and a system designed with that in mind is a lot less likely to have flooding and or loss of livestock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+lewk Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 The Euroreefs are a little more realistic with their ratings. The RS 80 would be fine for your tank. I know folks on here have used them on their 90s before. Derek, I think that skimmer would be a little undersized for my tank if everything I'm hearing is correct. It looks like I'll need something rated for at least 150 gallons. Thanks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma13 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have a Euroreef 6-2+ for sale that has been doing a great job on my 144 reef for several years. PM if you are interested. I have it posted in my hardware thread as I am parting out the entire setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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