Duplex sump concept
- Thread starter Indermark
- Start date
Driftwood
New member
I started with the LR rubble in my 'crash' chamber and it built up tons of waste... That was when I switched to the duplex design and used that same rubble on top of the eggcrate.
If it were me I would extend the eggcrate over the entire bottom of the sump, over the DSB. I have one sump that I did the 1/2 eggcrate and I'm not that happy with it. I don't have a real solid reason for you though, just don't like it.
Sump design looks great!
Dave
Dave
If it were me I would extend the eggcrate over the entire bottom of the sump, over the DSB. I have one sump that I did the 1/2 eggcrate and I'm not that happy with it. I don't have a real solid reason for you though, just don't like it.
Sump design looks great!
Dave
Dave
perpetual98
New member
How would Kenya Tree act as a detrius collector? I've got a few little branches that I popped into the refuge.
cilyjr
Active member
i have a couple of anthelia polyps in my sump, they ended up there on thier own. they grow like a weed in the display, in the sump under the single 5000k bulb they live and grow but at a much slower rate. there is debate though weather this is due to lower light or water movement.
Redstratplayer
New member
TekCat
New member
Thanks Dave, last night I cleaned out mine fuge from rubble, .... nasty is totaly underestimated term 
I am going to the home depot for some eggcrate. Question, how deep rock rubble layer needs to be on top of eggcrate? Here is my dillema, less rubble - less pods, more rubble - more detrius collected.
I am going to the home depot for some eggcrate. Question, how deep rock rubble layer needs to be on top of eggcrate? Here is my dillema, less rubble - less pods, more rubble - more detrius collected.
Driftwood
New member
I put in enough to cover the eggcrate and block a good part of the direct light. I have mysid shrimp that live in my sump and they are all over the place swimming around in the eggcrate, LR , and chaeto. The junk in the crash chamber seems to be getting in to the skimmer better now.
Good luck!
Dave
Good luck!
Dave
perpetual98
New member
Send me a couple mysid shrimp. lol
I've got lots of tiny pods, but haven't seen any mysid running around. I miss the little guys, there were some of the easier to see critters and I like the way that their eyes glow at night when I hunt them with the flashlight.
I've got lots of tiny pods, but haven't seen any mysid running around. I miss the little guys, there were some of the easier to see critters and I like the way that their eyes glow at night when I hunt them with the flashlight.
cilyjr
Active member
I had been been thinking about Mr. Tyree's ideas on a no light very low flow “Cryptic†zone and have wanted to employ one for some time. I have very limited space because 100% of my system must be hidden in the cabinet of my 46gallon display tank. The sump/fuge I have is an AGA 20 long. I chose this because it gave me the most room for the footprint. I have found some creative ways to use the space I have.
Since a large cryptic zone was out of the question for me I began thinking bout ways to employ some of the ideas. My first thought was to remove the top piece of egg crate and place PVC pipe side by side with small gaps to act in a similar manner as the egg crate shelf (I believe this idea to still have some merit) but I decided that 1’ PVC pipe would make the top zone too shallow or would take too much from the benthic zone. I will put this idea on hold for a future sump. My second was for a single 2inch piece of PVC. I was going pump water in using the return on my skimmer. I decided I didn’t like this idea for a few reasons. First being I had a hard time seeing the zone populating well with freshly skimmed water. Second the flow is very fast. Third I didn’t like the idea of using the PVC as once I sealed it I would not be able to look at what is colonizing inside without destroying it; my main purpose for doing all of this is experimentation. While browsing the isles at Lowes I came across this piece in the electrical area (see photo) since it has a removable piece held on with screws (I bought plastic screws to replace the metal ones) it would be easy to open it and see what is colonizing.
My next step was to find a way to allow water to be pushed through; I didn’t want it to be passive. The skimmer was out of the question so I decided to use the return pump. My return has a t valve allowing a portion of water to return to the sump to regulate flow in the display as I am sure many people do. I had not thought of using this at first because I do have UV attached to this line (how am I going to populate anything post UV) but I have not had the UV light plugged in for months. This also makes it the final zone water circulates through in the sump. Although the cryptic zone box is located in the first chamber of my sump, the water is coming from the pump that returns water to the display. I realize that the water makes a second trip through benthic area but I see no harm in that. I next purchased some Live Rock rubble, filled the electrical box with it, and sealed it up.
The rock will give the zone colonization a jumpstart and will be a place for animals to anchor. Now with the rubble sealed in, no light passes through the chamber. I checked by shining a flashlight in one side in a dark room. It is time hook it up. I used vinyl tubing and some barbed fittings. When I hooked it up I decided that the water flow was too strong to combat this I put holes in the tube which I may replace with a valve later. It is up and running.
I realize due to the size of the cryptic that any real benefits in water quality will most likely be negligible; I am interested to see what life will colonize there. My plan is to open it every 6 months.
Thanks for reading this. Please feel free to comment or criticize, I welcome both
Since a large cryptic zone was out of the question for me I began thinking bout ways to employ some of the ideas. My first thought was to remove the top piece of egg crate and place PVC pipe side by side with small gaps to act in a similar manner as the egg crate shelf (I believe this idea to still have some merit) but I decided that 1’ PVC pipe would make the top zone too shallow or would take too much from the benthic zone. I will put this idea on hold for a future sump. My second was for a single 2inch piece of PVC. I was going pump water in using the return on my skimmer. I decided I didn’t like this idea for a few reasons. First being I had a hard time seeing the zone populating well with freshly skimmed water. Second the flow is very fast. Third I didn’t like the idea of using the PVC as once I sealed it I would not be able to look at what is colonizing inside without destroying it; my main purpose for doing all of this is experimentation. While browsing the isles at Lowes I came across this piece in the electrical area (see photo) since it has a removable piece held on with screws (I bought plastic screws to replace the metal ones) it would be easy to open it and see what is colonizing.
My next step was to find a way to allow water to be pushed through; I didn’t want it to be passive. The skimmer was out of the question so I decided to use the return pump. My return has a t valve allowing a portion of water to return to the sump to regulate flow in the display as I am sure many people do. I had not thought of using this at first because I do have UV attached to this line (how am I going to populate anything post UV) but I have not had the UV light plugged in for months. This also makes it the final zone water circulates through in the sump. Although the cryptic zone box is located in the first chamber of my sump, the water is coming from the pump that returns water to the display. I realize that the water makes a second trip through benthic area but I see no harm in that. I next purchased some Live Rock rubble, filled the electrical box with it, and sealed it up.
The rock will give the zone colonization a jumpstart and will be a place for animals to anchor. Now with the rubble sealed in, no light passes through the chamber. I checked by shining a flashlight in one side in a dark room. It is time hook it up. I used vinyl tubing and some barbed fittings. When I hooked it up I decided that the water flow was too strong to combat this I put holes in the tube which I may replace with a valve later. It is up and running.
I realize due to the size of the cryptic that any real benefits in water quality will most likely be negligible; I am interested to see what life will colonize there. My plan is to open it every 6 months.
Thanks for reading this. Please feel free to comment or criticize, I welcome both
Redstratplayer
New member
cilyjr looks good.
By what i have read it would be better if you cut egg crate to fill up about half of it and Lr ruble in the other half.
By what i have read it would be better if you cut egg crate to fill up about half of it and Lr ruble in the other half.
Indermark
New member
I have been running my 75 gallon tank since Feb using the Duplex sump concept. I must say that the amount of feather dusters big and small is amazing I wish I could share pictures But my camera sucks. I have two rocks that are just covered with small feather dusters and sponges. There is not a space in the sump where there is not a sponge growing. It really is amazing how much life you can get with out light. Currently I think i might get some lighting and start growing some cheato. In hopes it might do something more for my tank.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
If you have a shallow growing area, and don't let it "ball-up", you should grow caulerpa instead. It grows much faster than chaeto, and it won't crash like it does in deep (shadowed) refugia.
Good to hear you're enjoying the dark side of your aquarium. They really pop up out of nowhere once you give them a space to grow. "Build it, and they will come".
Good to hear you're enjoying the dark side of your aquarium. They really pop up out of nowhere once you give them a space to grow. "Build it, and they will come".
Indermark
New member
I thought that if caulerpa was not on a 24 hour light cycle it would eventually turn sexual.? I wanted to do chaeto because it does not attach to live rock, correct and does not turn sexual. I do have some caulerpa in my display that came with a colony of zoas I purchased. Furthermore, I was looking at my sump some more last night and noticed I have lime green sponges as well along with one bright red one (fire sponge?:eek2: ) I'm gonna see if my sisters computer will run the program for my camera.
My nitrates are 1 PPM but I only have 3 fish and a shrimp in my tank. My nitrates were at 40ppm after I cycled my tank with uncured live rock from a LFS in Saint Louis. To my suprise it went down by itself to its current level.
Ryan
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Chaeto is good if you want an algae that won't get sucked into pumps or spread throughout the sump. The down side is it's a slow grower, and it traps detritus. It also tends to grow in a large ball, with the areas exposed to light flourishing, while the greater shadowed area slowly dies off. The die off often goes unnoticed as the bound nitrate and and phosphate is returned to the system.
Algae will not grow well in a 24 hour photoperiod. Photosynthesis requires a six hour period of darkness for proper respiration. A 16 hour photoperiod will not lead to seasonal cues (shorter days) that cause algae to reproduce.
Allowing caulerpa to overgrow the space to the point of shadowing itself is the most common environmental cue (stress) for sexual reproduction. A shallow tray of caulerpa will grow quickly, remove more organics, will not crash (sexually reproduce), and will not trap detritus. Caulerpa is also more useful, as it's a food source for the fish in the display tank.
Indermark
New member
Thanks, for the info. I might try caulerpa first because I have some all ready that arrived for free. What exactly do you use for a shallow tray? I'm just trying to get an idea on how to house this algae.
I took some pictures of my sump last night and I cannot get any good pics of the bigger feather dusters that have popped up near the back of the tank. I'll see if I can get what I have posted.
I took some pictures of my sump last night and I cannot get any good pics of the bigger feather dusters that have popped up near the back of the tank. I'll see if I can get what I have posted.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
The "shallow tray" I'm referring to is the top level of the Duplex filtration system. You can extend the eggcrate to keep the caulerpa from drifting into the rest of the sump.
At first I was using a plastic mesh, over the eggcrate, below the algae. I now use live rock rubble over the eggcrate with no mesh. The mesh didn't allow detritus to settle to the lower benthic zone where it can be reduced by detrivores.
You will be able to harvest the caulerpa weekly, rather than monthly, as with chaeto. In addition to the excess nutrient uptake (DOC), the caulerpa also acts as a mechanical filter, exporting detritus (POC) as well.
Zooplankton seems to grow better in caulerpa than it does in chaeto. Some varieties such as C. Prolifera have anti-bacterial properties that can aid in fish & coral health.
At first I was using a plastic mesh, over the eggcrate, below the algae. I now use live rock rubble over the eggcrate with no mesh. The mesh didn't allow detritus to settle to the lower benthic zone where it can be reduced by detrivores.
You will be able to harvest the caulerpa weekly, rather than monthly, as with chaeto. In addition to the excess nutrient uptake (DOC), the caulerpa also acts as a mechanical filter, exporting detritus (POC) as well.
Zooplankton seems to grow better in caulerpa than it does in chaeto. Some varieties such as C. Prolifera have anti-bacterial properties that can aid in fish & coral health.
Similar threads
