CUC in the sump?

[helitaiwan963]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if people are keeping any kind of CUC in you guy's sump/refugiums? I'm wondering this because The sump and refugium gathers a lot of detrius in there as water flows through it all. I only have LR rubble in my sump and fuge. The fuge also has cheato.


If so, what should have have in there as a CUC?



Thanks
Eric

 

[SkullV]

If you have some rubble down there the worms/stars/stomatellas/etc. will self populate along with Pods. I also tossed a few peppermint shrimp down there because I accidentally ordered them during a live aquaria group buy.

 

[helitaiwan963]

If you have some rubble down there the worms/stars/stomatellas/etc. will self populate along with Pods. I also tossed a few peppermint shrimp down there because I accidentally ordered them during a live aquaria group buy.

ahh, i was thinking the pods would prob do decent down there breaking stuff down. I know you don't like hermits in a reef, but i was thinking about throwing a few hermits down there and maybe a snail or two.

 

[SkullV]

I have hermits in my overflow They do a great job in there, eventually they will be one.

 

[helitaiwan963]

hmm, haha. I may just have my dad pick up a few hermits over the weekend and throw it into the fuge/sump. and probably 2 astrea for the fuge. Hopefully they stay in that area and don't make their way to the return area.

I think the tank overall is starting to stabilize. cyano and algae are going down. Had my dad up the Mg a little bit and start running carbon and a phosphate sponge. Hope he can find the time to head up to chicago and pickup 2 nems from badgus.

 

[MBasile]

I haven't much about this, but my theory is that its good to have periodic "disturbances" in the refugium- which I induce by vacuuming it out from time to time. I base this off of other environments where as time goes on certain species tend to out compete most others and diversity is reduced. by disturbing the environment it allows re colonization by many species and increases diversity, just like with controlled burns on a prairie. In my experience after doing this I see big blooms of copepods and other organisms and I observe what seems to be an increase in vitality in my reef. That being said, I think a cuc would be a good addition and would help to keep the refugium from progressing into a climax type environment with low diversity and decreased functionality. So I say go for it!

 

[sonict72]

I do not put snails and hermits in the sump for the fear that they will get in the return pump, skimmer, etc. I do have coral banded and peppermints.

 

[Cubbies]

I do not put snails and hermits in the sump for the fear that they will get in the return pump, skimmer, etc. I do have coral banded and peppermints.

+1 on the snails. I would hate to have one go into a pump or get sucked and boom there goes a pump.

 

[helitaiwan963]

I do not put snails and hermits in the sump for the fear that they will get in the return pump, skimmer, etc. I do have coral banded and peppermints.

+1 on the snails. I would hate to have one go into a pump or get sucked and boom there goes a pump.

hmm... even if my pumps are all covered? For my protein skimmer, it's a rio pump so it's got that little grate cover over the inlet. and I believe so does my quiet one return pump.

 

[sonict72]

My Sicce PSK1000 skimmer pump will suck anything near its inlet. Also, my snails have been breeding. I have tiny snails all over the place. I do not want them in my sump. I use a filter sock to catch those evil snails that make it through the overflow. I am probably overly paranoid about hermits. They are probably fine but I just won't risk it.

 

[helitaiwan963]

My Sicce PSK1000 skimmer pump will suck anything near its inlet. Also, my snails have been breeding. I have tiny snails all over the place. I do not want them in my sump. I use a filter sock to catch those evil snails that make it through the overflow. I am probably overly paranoid about hermits. They are probably fine but I just won't risk it.

hmm... i run a filter sock as well... found a peppermint shrimp in it one time!
Good point with those baby snails, i've seen them around the tank as well. I think i'm going try like 2-3 hermits in the fuge area for now and see how they do.

 

[bocochoco]

I tried keeping things in my overflow but they all get pulled through. I keep bio-cubes in one half of my sump completely covered in rubble and substrate with chaeto, half dozen hermits, one Astrea and an odd red leafy macro that came on a liverock I bought. They keep it very very clean. My sump area itself I have 1 large astrea too big to get sucked into any of my pumps.
Impeller should be able to handle babies snails.

 

[sonict72]

Impeller should be able to handle babies snails.

True, but they grow.

 

[bocochoco]

True, but they grow.

:uhoh2: I guess I hope they get sucked up before that

 

[xtlosx]

I have 2 peppermint shrimps, 2 astrea turbos (that travel between my return, fuge, and drain with zero problems), and brittle stars, bristleworms, and one hermit crab.. They all do a great job.

 

[helitaiwan963]

hmm... that sounds great... I'm gonna have to mod my fuge area a little bit probably to keep the shrimps from getting into the area where my tank drains into. My fuge is setup a little different than most "normal" sumps.

 

[aussie_chicago]

I had some hair algae growing on some of the rocks in my sump, so I had the brilliant idea of putting a turbo in there to clean up. Big mistake, the turbo, after a few days , got to the outlet tube of my skimmer, and the water started deflecting off his shell, out of the sump , all over the bottom of my stand and floor. It was lucky I was home and right there when it happened, so damage was minimal, but if it happened 15 mins later, I would have come home to a big flood.
Point is, I wouldnt put anything in the sump / fug, too many pumps and things for the critters to mess with.

 

[bocochoco]

I had some hair algae growing on some of the rocks in my sump, so I had the brilliant idea of putting a turbo in there to clean up. Big mistake, the turbo, after a few days , got to the outlet tube of my skimmer, and the water started deflecting off his shell, out of the sump , all over the bottom of my stand and floor. It was lucky I was home and right there when it happened, so damage was minimal, but if it happened 15 mins later, I would have come home to a big flood.
Point is, I wouldnt put anything in the sump / fug, too many pumps and things for the critters to mess with.

I'm sorry that really sucks but I honestly laughed so hard when I read this. Maybe it was how you wrote it but things like that are just my luck and I related.