10gal plus 10gal

[aqujoe247]

Hello everyone, I have 10 gallon tank that is ran by a Emperor 400. I would like to add a 10 gallon tank underneath it and use it as a sump. Since I am new to this I really dont know where to begin, other than needing a water pump to get the water back to the main tank and lighting for the sump. I need to know what size lines should i use to transfer the water, and if they can be connected through my filter or is it mandatory to drill in the back of the tank? Also can someone show my how to build the sump, is there a website that shows how to convert the tank to a sump. Thanks for all the help that can be given, sorry if I sound confused, because I am.
Joe

[Travis]

Hi joe! Lots to cover there... first of all, what are you keeping in a 10 gallon tank with an emperor 400 on it? That's a lot of flow, and filtration overkill...

[Bwlr]

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sumps Part I by Greg Taylor

HTH

[Woodstock]

Great link Bwlr, thanks~

[aqujoe247]

as of now i have a clown goby and a clown fish. i want to keep soft corals but i want them to strive, so i dont want to do the bare min. on anything. I have that 400 filter on there because i had it lying around, so does that mean that i'm doing more harm than good with this tank. i'm thinking that 8-9 watts will be enough to have them growing well. Do you guys think that its really needed to have a sump/refugium?

Also I bought those mini compact fluorescent bulbs that screw into the factory hood and now i have brown algea growing on my live rock and glass. I have my lights set on a timer for 8hours, i guess this is a rookie mistake, is there a way to get rid of it?

[fidojoe]

Don't worry about the algae, its a normal part of a new tank. There may also be other types of algae that you will encounter in the early days of your tank. A few snails will usually clean it up for you. Water changes will also help to remove the excess nutrients that are causing the algae.

[aqujoe247]

What's up everyone, just to let you know I found a 20 gallon long, tank that i'm going to transfer everything into once i'm done building the stand. I went and bought a CPR SYS 500 sump system, but i'm having a problem with picking a skimmer, the outlet is too small for a skimmer inside it so i'm looking for a decent skimmer the would work with my set-up. I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the CORALIFE SUPER SKIMMER? It's stated as a HOB, can this hang on to the side of the sump or am I better off going with a stand alone skimmer. thanks for the help JOE

[fidojoe]

I've heard great things about the needlewheel versions. I plan on getting one for myself soon. IIRC, they can be used as HOB or in sump. You'll have to post pics for us

[aqujoe247]

What's good everybody, still haven't got to take any pics yet but I finally got a skimmer, an Urchin in-sump w/ a MaxiJet 1200! Sorry if I seem a lil' excited, but hey i'm a newcomer and it's all amazing to me. I've been looking at a site that said wet/dry filters can actually cause harm to reef tanks, is this true? Also when I ordered my skimmer, the guy said that I shouldn't use a UV sterilizer because it'll take all the good bacteria away. ROOKIE QUESTION: when I transfer from the 10gal to the 20gal i'll have to add sand and LR, will I have to cycle the entire tank again? Thanks JOE

[fidojoe]

Congrats on the new skimmer!

Wet dry filters basically break ammonia down into nitrites and then nitrites down to nitrates, but they can't break the nitrates down because they have too much oxygen flowing through. In order for nitrates to be broken down there needs to be anaerobic bacteria present and that is non-existant where there is that much oxygen. Nitrates are very harmful to a reef if you have too high of levels.

UV sterilizers are good for killing off everything that passes through them, both good and bad algaes, and whatever microorganisms have the misfortune to go through. It is more of a matter of preference really.

As for a cycle, what you can do is cure the new LR in a bucket or another tank before you swap the tanks out. The sand shouldn't need to be cycled being that live sand is not going to give you much if any die off, and dead sand is just that, dead.