Sump Tank And Ios Tank, anyone has sump tank? Options

[white horse T1]

i was reading a thread on sump tank vs IOF tank.

is sump tank ideal for goldfish? maintenance seem simpler and filtration change and medication could be added quite simply with sump tank, any one has one and can share some experience on sump tank?

[HappyBuddha]

Here are my two cents worth.

I don't own a sump tank but I think I know how it works.

Actually, if you understand how bio filtration works, all filteration system is the same (except for perhaps the FSB filter and the tricker tower). Water gets pumped, sucked, dropped into mechanical filtration first. Then it goes through ceramic/sinter glass media for bio filtration. After that stage, filtered water comes back out by force (IOS, sump and canister) or gravity (OHF). In between there's some sort of fine wools/sponge to trap and "polish" the water.

To me a sump is like an IOS placed underneath the tank. A OHF is a IOS placed above. A canister is roughly like a sealed IOS.

I don't like OHF becoz it's unsighty. Most OHF also does not allow me to install a rain bar to aerate and reduce water current. A canister is great but frequently disposal of trapped poos is a hassle. IOS is nice but takes up swimming space especially for a small tank.

I don't and probably won't go for a sump because I don't like to squat! Depending on its design, you may not be able to place it on a sideboard you already own unless you drill a hole to allow the piping to go through. I can grow plants inside my IOS compartment but a sump is a dark place.

With modern sinter glass, do we really need that much space a sump tank has to house filtration media anymore?