HoB VS. Sump ?

I have a 75G tank and I am starting to buy supplies and before I go drop a grand I wanted to know pros and cons for both HOB and sump. Should I even do HOB with a 75G ?

 

the best way to filter any reef tank is a sump under the tank with a refugium. and a skimmer

 

+1 to the sump/skimmer route. I've done the whole no sump thing and after a couple of months you'll hate it when the algae takes over!

Sump and a GOOD skimmer is definently the way to go!!

 

yes and a refugium with deep sand bed live rock and chaeto.

 

+1 on the sump and skimmer. It gives you more water volume which means less margin for error. It's also a place to keep all your equipment and any dosing can be done there too. Build your own sump the way you want it, there not that hard, take the money you save from the sump and put it towards a good skimmer. Ro/di is also a must, you can find one resonable and will save you alot a headaches down the road.
just a newbies 2 cents though.

 

I went with an HOB skimmer on my 50g since I'm new... 3 months in and I'm building a sump now. The skimmer gets the job done but I prefer to have less clutter hanging off the back (heater, skimmer, etc).

 

+100 on a sump! When I started this hobby I was confused about sumps and was worried to set one up. So I basically bought all the best HOB stuff & went that route.

After upgrading to a new tank with an overflow, I could never ever go back to HOB equipment. The sump has sooooo many benefits. Just to name a few, you can

- hide all your equipment in it and make your tank look aesthically nicer
- a place to dose your additives
- a place to put unwanted crabs/fish/etc
- creates nice extra flow with your return
- keeps the tank equipment much quieter
- you can easily hook up an ATO directly to sump
- water changes can be done in-sump and you don't have to disturb/stress your tank.

Those are just a few of the reasons, if you can, get a sump. An overflow on the tank will greatly help surface build-up too.

 

Another reason I like my sump is the DT water level stays the same. You only see evaporation in the sump level.

 

sump with internal or external skimmer will always give best results, however with advances in skimmers the hob's work pretty darn well

 

May be intimidating at first, but having researched salt and freshwater filtration for a year or so. Everyone agrees sump is the easiest, lowest maintenance and healthiest for your tank.