Sharing of the sump

[jmisztal]

I am in the VERY beginning of planning my move from freshwater (Malawi Cichlids) to saltwater (have been reading books and boards for about 3 months). I have an interest in both reef and fish only (I like triggers), but my main interest is in reef. I presently have a 125 gallon, all glass tank with a wet/dry. My present thinking is that I would like to make the 125 into my fish only tank. I have been pricing 300 gallon acrylic tanks for the reef - maybe I would be better off making the 125 the reef - thoughts? Here is my main question though - what are the pro's/con's on both tanks sharing the same sump, skimmer, refugium, etc? Please be candid and honest. Thank you!

 

[Joe_B]

You will not be able to add meds to the FO as freely as you would with seperate sumps, ie...cooper. That's only the first thing that came to mind.

 

[Modo]

What are you thinking along the lines of setup for the FO? Would you have a DSB and LR in the FO? The reason I ask is I would fear the waste from feeding of larger/dirtier fish in the FO would increase the nitrates to harmful levels in the reef if the biological filtration in the reef and sump could not keep up.

Another small problem that comes to mind would be dosing of "Reef Type" supplements for the benefit of the corals in the reef tank. When dosing you would have to take into account the volume of water in the other (FO) tank. The FO would not directly benfit from most of these additives. This would increase $$$ for the up-keep of the reef organisms.

I'm just throwing these out there for "brainstorming" purposes. These are just a couple of things that come to my mind right off hand. I am sure there is more experienced people out there that can give you 1st hand knowledge.

[ July 13, 2001: Message edited by: Modo ]

 

[jmisztal]

My ignorance is showing already - what are the meanings of the acronyms of DSB and LR - I can only come up with "deep sand bed" and "live rock", but I want to be sure I understand.... Thanks!

 

[Len]

If you keep you fishes biomass in the FO tank reasonable, I don't see a problem at all with a shared sump. In fact, I'd suggest the increased volume will actually benefit the reef display.

In-tank medication is not recommended, even in FO tanks. If a fishes gets sick, remove it into a quarantine tank to administer treatment locally.

BTW, you're right about the abbreviations. For all intensive purposes, I'd recommend live rock and a sand bed for both your reef and your FO tank (ppl here call it Fish Only With Live Rock, or FOWLR).

 

[M.E.Milz]

I thought about doing the same thing when I was considering moving my FOWLR tank next to my reef tank. As long as you are using live rock, and better yet a deep sand bed, in both tanks, there is no reason why you can't have both tanks empty into the same sump. Makes dosing supplements easier, as well as adding things like calcium reactors to the set-up.