Sump in 10 gallon reef tank

[ahuaia]

So recently I've been thinking about doing a 10 gallon tank with a 5.5 gallon sump and I was wondering if anyone has tried this. I'm very hesitant to do it because a 5.5 gallon sump seams really hard to set up but it would be used for a filter, protein skimmer, heater and maybe some live rock I would probably make the stand myself and attempt to fit all my equipment underneath include top off Reservoir and such witch is why I want to go with a 5.5 instead of a 10. Does anyone have any advice or experience with something like this.

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[Razorback reef]

I think the efficiency of skimming a nano is pretty poor. It would take like 2 years to pay for the skimmer vs. the costs of water changes.

Probably better of with a sump/refugium.

[bcb577]

I find a 20% water change weekly is perfect for keeping my 10 gallon running great, But of course if your objective is less water changes then a sump is a good idea.

[Haunt]

You might want to look into the AquaticLife 115 Internal Protein skimmer. Very small, very efficient and not too expensive either.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Internal-Protein-30-Gallon/dp/B0028BPRMA

[fishdip22]

So recently I've been thinking about doing a 10 gallon tank with a 5.5 gallon sump and I was wondering if anyone has tried this. I'm very hesitant to do it because a 5.5 gallon sump seams really hard to set up but it would be used for a filter, protein skimmer, heater and maybe some live rock I would probably make the stand myself and attempt to fit all my equipment underneath include top off Reservoir and such witch is why I want to go with a 5.5 instead of a 10. Does anyone have any advice or experience with something like this.

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As long as it holds all the equipment you want and wont over flow if power is of you could do any size you want.

[bcb577]

Although I don't run it anymore I did run a coralife biocube skimmer in my ten gallon,and after a few weeks it actually pulled stuff out of the water! I took it off due to the tank being too clean and getting no growth out of my corals,which are a mixture of softies and lps. After awhile things started to spread and grow. But I do find a 20% water change weekly does the trick imho.