Tropical Fish Forums

[nes999]

over the summer I will get a salt tank, and I've heard of people using a tubber maid bin for a sump. does this work or is this one of the things people at the lfs store say works but has never tried it.


one more thing. what is a good beginer fish to start with. I've read the the thread about it but I just would like your suggestions.

Thanks

edit: Its gonna be a FWLR and after its established for a wile with no problems I will start adding corals.

edit....again: I'm hoping its right around 55 gal.
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[Osprey]

We need to know more about the size of the tank and the type of system you want to run before we can really recommend livestock.
Yes, rubbermaid sumps work. Really, when you get right down to it, a sump is just a container of water under the tank with an inflow from the tank and a circulating pump to return the water to the tank. As long as the materials are inert, you can use any container.
However, you're going to need to think about what you want to keep in your sump, and plan accordingly. Also make sure the container is sturdy enough to support the weight of the water- you don't want to use a flimsy container.
The other catch is this: if you're going with a plastic tub because you're hoping to keep costs cheap, you should probably be aware that the actual tank used for the sump is a very minimal portion of the cost. Pumps, heaters, skimmer, lighting, powerheads, etc. cost far, far more than a brand new tank does.
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[nes999]

thanks
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WHY doesn't my flying fish fly?

[FloridaBoy]

nes999; Yes you can use a tub sump but generally there are better solutions---because a sump usually employs baffles and a simple system for employing chemical filtration like Polyfilters or activated carbon. You need to make sure the skimmer box overflow from your tank is the proper style and the drain tube from your tank will not flop around or come loose, even simple design flaws can prove to be a disaster if you do not allow for power outages by using the correct setup or something pops loose and burns out your return pump. I have no problem with carefully designed DIY setups, but in many cases you may be better off just buying a prefab overflow with a properly designed sump and those are usually going to be made from acrylic or incorporate a glass aquarium. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about sumps:
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years