Sump or No Sump system is better?

[Gavin_EuphonyG]

Hi Guys and Shrimperts!

Having owned 3, 5 & 10G tanks (All Neocaridina shrimps), I've taken the plunge and decided to build a shrimp rack and with new tanks.

Size of the tank is 2.5ft(W) x 1.5ft(L) x 1.5ft(H) and will be divided to 3 columns. The upper most tank will house my Cardina and the middle tank will be the Neo's and the lowest is either a sump or just going to leave the rack space with the chiller only (I am from Malaysia).

Basically in total, my plan is to have 6 divided tanks (3 each divided from the 2.5ft tank) and that is the max. amount of tanks, I may start a new rack next time should I decided to expand. 2 different local shrimp stores has given me separate suggestions for the shrimp tank water system and need your expertise and advice to see what's best. I am not restricted by their suggestion since I did told them that I want to have a simple water flow without having to drill holes to the tanks, but I don't mind getting my hands on plumbing and DIY Overflow stuff.

The drafts are below for your suggestions, I'm all ears.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Cesar]

@Gavin_EuphonyG impressive drawing, what did you use?

I have only ever used a sump, so my two cents, go with a sump, centralized but yet you can still build in controls for isolating tanks... I put in ball valves on each tank for water in and out... that way i could isolate if I needed to... might be over kill but... 

HTH

[OzShrimp]

One issue which you will face when using a sump is when you choose to have shrimp which have extensively different requirements in terms of water condition and what not. This causes you to have to have the section isolated permanently so that the shrimp does not become stressed.

 

It does have its benefits though as @Cesar said you can build in isolation options so if you are keeping shrimp which survive in the same water conditions it does have the benefit of less maintenance time in terms of water changes as you are not doing every tank individually.

 

I would opt for a sump system myself when i eventually have shrimp again just make sure its done right or restrict the types of shrimp you will be keeping.

[Gavin_EuphonyG]

Hi @Cesar @OzShrimp

Thank you guys for replying. I just used Powerpoint to design the draft ?

Beforehand, I have already determine the shrimps I intended to keep, they do share the same parameters which was why I decided on this system. I'll listen to you guys and agree to choose and go the Sump way, perhaps doing some DIY Overflows to control, so will see.

Thanks again!  

[Raf in CBR]

Anyone point me in the direction of a handy 'how to' about sumps?

[inverted]

I like the setup the way you have it designed..... i personally run sumps on my racks but only so i can run chillers. The large water volume does help with stability, but your sections have dividers so it should be quite stable. I like the mini sump at the back with chilled water.... never seen it done before. Let us know if it works to cool all tanks 

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by inverted

[Eric@Discobee]

if you want to use a chiller get stainless steel pipes IN your tank.  This is pretty common in Asia.

I dont see how your design can be made in a way that the water flows enough the tanks after the first to get any benefit from this design.