Aqua Escape

Fish Tank Supplies – What Should I Use? – A Berlin Sump , a Wet-Dry Filter, or a Refugium ???

Definition of Sump

In the world of aquariums, “Sump” or “Berlin Sump” is a general term used for an open basin or container of water placed below the aquarium which is fed water from the surface of the fish or reef tank. Water is then delivered back to the aquarium above, using a pump connected to or inside of the sump. A sump can also be the part of a filter system that also has an open area for pumps and/or protein skimmers and other devices used to improve or monitor water conditions.

Sumps for aquariums

Aquarium Sumps can be classified into three categories, Berlin Reservoirs, Wet-Dry Filters and a specialized type of system called a Refugium. These systems may vary widely in design, shape and mechanics, a fact that prevents us from being able to provide generic set-up instructions. However, almost all are typically a large box-like acrylic or glass tank that has been divided in the center into two sections. One section is where water from the aquarium is delivered. The other section is used to allow a pump to return water back to the aquarium.

Berlin Sump System
The word “sump” usually refers to the section that contains the pump or pump intake. However, in the case of a Berlin system, which is a completely open tank, the entire reservoir is sometimes referred to as the “sump.”All of these systems have several things in common. Because these filters are open systems, they can only be fed by water drawn from the surface of the aquarium. If they were fed from below the surface, the filter below would overflow and flood when the pump was turned off. Therfore, they all require the use of an overflow prefilter of some sort, either built-into the tank or of a design that hangs on the back of the aquarium.

Which Do I Use?
The big question we always are asked is, which to use? In general, if the aquarium has live rock in the aquarium or in the sump, then a Wet-Dry Filter is not nescessary, as a matter of fact it is just a holding area for detritus (garbage from the tank), and not really desired. The biological surface area on the live rock is awesome for the good bacteria to form and adhere to, and provides the best possible biological system growth. Tanks with live rock for biological media usually are unscathed by large fish loads, since the biological system is so strong.
If the aquarium being built is a fish only system live rock is not desired, then a wet-dry filtration or sump system is very nescessary to grow the needed biolobical media for a stable aquarium environment.

How about a refugium?
A refugium is a sump where a partitioned area has been added to grow marine plants that absorb the nitrates in the water. These nitrates act as fertalizer for the plants, and keep the nitrate level in your aquarium at 0 or very close to it. A refugium can be a second sump system added to the aquarium, or it can be the main sump system, with a partitioned area dedicated for the main pump, a dedicated lit area for the marine algae, and a dedicated area for a protein skimmer.

Why buy fish tank supplies online?

Buying aquarium supplies has both its pros and cons. We’ll discuss the pros and cons over the following aspects: selection, cost, time delay, shipping cost, and caveat emptor (buyer beware), and customer service.

-Selection. How many times have you read about a new aquarium filter, drove over to your local pet store only to find that they don’t carry that new filter in stock? It can be very frustrating hunting down local sources for many specific aquarium supplies. Probably the biggest advantage to buying your aquarium supplies online is the available selection. If you can’t find what you’re looking for at one online, you can probably find it at another online site. You can quickly develop your quick list of favorite stores, one of which will always carry what you’re looking for.

-Cost. With online shopping, you can easily do comparative shopping, which will help you keep your costs down. Make sure you consider shipping costs and the company’s shipping guarantee or warranty (or lack thereof) when you compare prices.

-Time delay. There are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, shopping online will require some delay of gratification. Most online stores will provide expedited shipping. So going into a store in person will definitely get you your supplies in your hands faster. On the other hand, if you can’t find what you’re looking for locally, depending on how far you’d have to travel to get what you want, using an online site might make sense here.

-Shipping cost (may not make sense to buy small orders)

-Caveat Emptor. Besides cost of shipping, this is probably the single biggest problem that you’ll encounter buying online. There’s simply no guarantee that you’re going to get what you think you’re going to get. That’s because you’re not right in front of the product, looking at physically. There are two ways to deal with this short-coming of shopping online. First, only deal with an online store that has a good reputation among other fish hobbyists. Second, always go with the store that has the more generous return or exchange policy. For livestock, there won’t be a return or exchange policy. But what is their shipping guarantee that you’re going to receive the fish alive and in good shape?

-Customer Service. With online stores, this is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you can come across the fish tank supplies online site for a very successful aquarium supply store that provides much better customer service and information than you could get in a local general pet store
But on the other side of the spectrum, you may find that they have limited guarantees on how well their livestock will do once you get them.

Pet Fish : How to Buy Fish Aquarium Supplies