Need some sump advice

[Subliminal]

So I found a deal I couldn't pass on for a 90 gallon tank, which has an overflow and both the stand and tank are ready for a sump....I've never had a tank with a sump before.

I had to drop off the previous owners fish to Ocean Gallery or somesuch, as I couldn't take them right now, and I had new lines and bulkheads made for the overflow setup.

I also bought a pump for the return...which I probably paid too much for ($129):


I picked up this skimmer, which I *THINK* I got a good deal on for $140:



Anyway, guy gave me two sumps...one is setup for freshwater, I believe, one is for salt, but is real old and acrylic and he kind of seemed skeptical about it:



Anyway, I was wondering what you guys thought for a sump...do I use one of these two and wing it? Do I go to Petco and buy a 10 or 20 gallon and a kit to sump it. Do I have other options? Advice needed! Thanks!

 

[Mark_C]

All depends on how complex you want to get.
I used to have, and sometimes build, multichamber sumps.
One chamber for intake, one for a fuge, one for dosing and heaters, one for return, blah, blah, blah

Now I just use an unchambered tank.
Downtube into a filter sock in holder on on side of tank, some rock in there (not crazy piled up, you need to be able to move it, remove it, cure new rock, etc), submerge a heater or two, hang the ATO and dosers over the side, and the return pump. All in one big tank.
It has a small clean up crew, couple snails, a hermit, and every once in a while I'll dump some pods in there.

Works just as well as the hundreds I spent on building and buying complex things.
Here's a thriving nem tank and the sump thats been running it the past couple years...

 

[redfishbluefish]

You are correct...that first one is a wet/dry trickle sump common with freshwater. I have heard of people converting them to salt, but believe there are better options. My suggestion is a 40B sump. More volume, better choice. I too have a 90 gallon and have what I though was a 40B, but found out it's a 50B....same footprint, slightly taller. Anyway, 40B would be an excellent size sump for that size tank. Here's an older picture of mine




Just need to make sure it will fit in the stand and then decide on the design of baffles.

 

[Salted]

Sicce are some of the best pumps you can buy. The down side though to the pump you bought is that you can't control speed. DC pumps with controllers are the way to go imho.

 

[Subliminal]

It does have a control knob on the side...I assume thats for speed?

 

[reefsandrotts]

I run that same pump on my 75,overflow keeps up with it no problem

 

[bigyankfan]

If you buy a 29 or 40 Breeder for use as a sump, there are many vendors on ebay who sell baffle kits and you can control the size of each section and the water height (some skimmers are very particular about how much water they sit in).

 

[MadReefer]

If you buy a 29 or 40 Breeder for use as a sump, there are many vendors on ebay who sell baffle kits and you can control the size of each section and the water height (some skimmers are very particular about how much water they sit in).

Agree. Bought some off E BAY few years ago.

 

[Rueric]

I like my custom sump made with a breeder and baffle kit.
Baffle kit purchased from jaxreef, here is Mannys number +1 (904) 434-0166

He was very accommodating since I wanted kits that didn’t fit the footprint of my stand, highly recommended

one thing to note though, the acrylic lid for the drain/sock section has warped.. not sure if it’s user error or not