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Hi,
I was wondering if anyone here uses an undertank sump to maximize area in their tank. I have 2-3" and 1-1" RES's that I am moving into a 100 gallon tank in the spring and was thinking about using a 30 gallon sump. So, I was just looking for some opinions on that kind of setup.
Thank you,
Josh

could be a dumb question..... but... what is a sump?

hahaha...not a dumb question at all because I just learned about them recently from a friend who runs big saltwater tanks. A sump is simply a holding tank for all of your supplies (fliters, heaters etc..). One major benefit with a sump is that it will keep your main tank at a constant water level so that you aren't forced to add water on a regular basis. It's a really good way to maximize the area in your tank for the turtles as well as keeping them away from dangerous heaters and things. It takes a lot of heat to keep 130 gallons (1000 lbs) of water at a constant 75 degrees. Also, I've contemplated growing live plants in the tank but I'm sure the turtles will gobble them up. So, I was thinking of growing them in the sump simply to regulate nitrate levels.
Hope that helps,
Josh

hm interesting... still not completly clear on what it is... but i'll google it and see if i can find a pic maybe that will help paint the picture for me. haha

yeah, just google aquariums+sumps and that should lead you in the right direction. It's really just an auxillary tank that no one see's but you. Just a nice way to keep all that stuff out of your tank that takes up soo much room.

I plan to get a pond filter at some point, and I've been told that the one I'm probably going to get will work outside the tank if it's in a sump, which is how I'm going to use it.

Well, it doesn't seem like it's a very common practice in the RES world. I guess I'll give it a try when I get the 100 gallon tank set up because I won't have use for my existing tank anymore. I'll let you all know how it goes!