# is 10 gallon sump for 33 gallon planted tank worth it



## UnceasingStorm (Jul 16, 2014)

Hi all,

After a couple incidents where my pipe connections slipped from my Eheim2215 filter (and flooding the wooden floor), I was debating maybe I should put a 10 gallon aquarium underneath my 33 gallon planted tank as a sump filter. I was just wondering what people's opinions are. Is it worth the effort?

Thanks!


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

Have you tried getting metal hose clamps that you screw to adjust? They should do a better job at tightening down any hose than the plastic stuff.

If you plan to run CO2, using a sump is going to give you some problems; you'll basically have to make your sump + connections completely air tight so you're not gassing out the CO2 once it goes down to the sump.


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## UnceasingStorm (Jul 16, 2014)

Oh I didnt know about those metal clamps. I will look into those


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

You can get them at home depot, lowes, etc and they are really cheap. You'll spend maybe 2-3$


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

Get the stainless steel metal hose clamps. A couple bucks more but they won't rust.


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

I tried a sump, and it was a fun project for a while until it wasn't. And cost a lot more than I expected. 

The biggest issue was water loss. A sump has more flow so more water evaporates. In a well designed sump the return chamber is limited in size, and all the water loss is from there. So you need to top up every 2-3 days. 

So, for my 2 dollars, I don't think it is worth it when you can get a nice simple filter which will more than do the job.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

It is also not practical to run co2 with a sump in use if you want to do co2 in the future


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

pyrrolin said:


> It is also not practical to run co2 with a sump in use if you want to do co2 in the future


Why is this so? If the drain outlet and return outlet were below the waterline, and no wet/dry, would there really be too much gassing? I've always pondered this because i wanted to make a 10 gallon or 20 gallon sump for my 46 but because it is a plants, never went to do so. I would love to have a sump to farm some shrimps in to feed my fish


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

if both are under the water and the power goes out, siphon effect takes over and you get a flood and a messy floor


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

pyrrolin said:


> if both are under the water and the power goes out, siphon effect takes over and you get a flood and a messy floor


Use a ball-check valve on the return line to avoid this.


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