What is a....
 

Hi everyone!

I'm a newbie to this whole reef/saltwater obsession and had a few questions. If you could answer them or give me a link to some good info I'd greatly appreciate it.

1) What is a sump? What is the purpose of a sump?
2) What is an overflow? What is the purpose?
3) What does closed loop mean?

Thanks!

A sump can be described as a few things. Place to put your skimmer, heater, carbon ect. Also a place to do your water tests without disturbing the main tank and it also addes to the tank volume.

The overflow is to feed the sump water and skimm the surface.

Closed loop is to add more flow to the system with just a pump and the plumbing. You don't need a sump for a closed loop. Hope that helps.

Clinton

Some Sump Articles to get you started:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.htm

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/gt/index.htm

:biggrin:

Excellent articles and info! Thank you both!