Biggest tank without a sump?

[Tarolisol]

Originally Posted by Beverly

None of the reefs we've kept over the years have had sumps. That includes a2.5g, 7g, 10g, 28g, 33g, 37g, 44g, 67g, 75g, 180g, and our current 120g. The only tanks that ever had skimmers (HOB) were the 75g and 180g, but that was years ago. We stopped using skimmers because they overflowed from time to time

The key to sumpless success, in our case, is having a low bioload, lots of LR, lots of non-invasive macroalgae in the tank, and a BB so we can siphon out all the crud on a weekly basis.

What type of macro do you keep in the tank?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Had a 100g heavily stocked FOWLR with some hardy corals (toadstools, leathers, etc) for over a year without a sump or skimmer, just a AC500 HOB diy refugium, an Eheim Pro II 2026 & 40w UV sterilizer. No problems with that tank with no sump.

However, now all my sw reef tanks have sumps or above tank refugiums.

Anthony

[fresh]

You can do a very nice tank without a sump up to probably 150gal. Keep in mind that your bio-load has to be low, lots of live rock, and good skimming and water movement are always a plus.

I have a 72gal sumpless that has been very successful for about a year now. I even keep SPS corals and clams!!! It just depends on what you want to do, and what you are willing to sacrifice.

I only have 2 clowns, 2 chromis and a yellow tang in there. I also have over 100lbs of liverock and a remora-pro for a skimmer.

[Tarolisol]

Well its good to hear all these comments, i was concerened with a 30-50g. I had bad algea in my first tank years ago which was 77 sumpless. But with more knowledge now I'm sure ill have no problem with this size.

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by Tarolisol

What type of macro do you keep in the tank?

The only MA I can ID is chaeto. The rest of the MA came on my rocks as hitchhikers. Both are red, but are very different from any of the red algae I've seen in any ID pages.

One problem I have with MA in the main tank is that by mid-afternoon, there are lots of micro bubbles (O2) caused by photosynthesis. The bubbles don't seem to bother the corals, but they tick me off to no end