Empty Sump

[mpcart]

What should I do with my empty sump?

For the past two years the center section of my sump has contained a huge pile of about 100 lbs of rock that did nothing but collect detritus. I pulled it all out and cleaned the sump but now I need to do something with the center section.

Thinking about getting some chaeto and just keeping that in the section.

Any ideas?

-Mike

 

[Aqua Man 07]

Scrubber

 

[kegogut]

I think you should get a few of the marine pure ceramic blocks and do a bunch of different macro.

 

[M3P]

Your tank looked awesome. Put the rock back in there!

 

[_E_]

I'm probably going to throw some chaeto under a par38 in mine. I might even put a shallow sand bed with some mangroves in it too just for fun.

 

[EDJFA]

What should I do with my empty sump?



For the past two years the center section of my sump has contained a huge pile of about 100 lbs of rock that did nothing but collect detritus. I pulled it all out and cleaned the sump but now I need to do something with the center section.



Thinking about getting some chaeto and just keeping that in the section.



Any ideas?



-Mike

Have your nitrates and/or phosphates gone down because you pulled the rock?

I have a similar situation going on and wondered if that was contributing to my issues.

 

[TanksDad13]

Marine Pure is a GREAT idea.

 

[jlabeaume]

Have your nitrates and/or phosphates gone down because you pulled the rock?

I have a similar situation going on and wondered if that was contributing to my issues.

Interested in this as well. I only have about 20 lbs of rock in the sump but plan on redesigning it soon.

 

[M3P]

All of my display water is forced thru a ton of liverock in one chamber of my sump....now you got me thinking. I do have a brittle star that goes thru the rock, but im sure there is detritus in there. The flow is fast though, maybe that helps. Following along.

 

[mpcart]

I've never tested nitrates or phosphates. I was starting to get a small amount of algae growth in low flow areas of the DT - likely because I needed to change my RODI filters and was outputting water with TDS of 7-8 the past couple months.

So, I decided it was a good idea to clean things up a little. I pulled the rock because it was a huge pile that can't easily be cleaned and I hadn't done so for two years. I sucked a lot of gunk out of that section.

-Mike

 

[mpcart]

Your tank looked awesome. Put the rock back in there!

Thanks - and the tank still is looking good. I may get a few larger pieces of LR and put them in the sump but the pile of small rocks needs to go.

-Mike

 

[kegogut]

Ive gotta a couple couple hundred lbs. of LR in my sump as well. Things are growing and looking good so Ive decided to leave it for now. IF I do something with it,it will be what I suggested though and get a few blocks of marine pure and alot of macro.

 

[Koddie Doo]

I've never tested nitrates or phosphates.

-Mike

Never? This amazes me with as good as your tank looks.

 

[Tradewinds]

I was reading a thread a while back that said that pure ceramic biomedia was the cause of elevated aluminum readings. Was this proved incorrect or is it still something to consider?

 

[mpgrant77]

I was reading a thread a while back that said that pure ceramic biomedia was the cause of elevated aluminum readings. Was this proved incorrect or is it still something to consider?

I looked into this heavily. There is no conclusive evidence either way. The problem is that it is extremely hard to measure even for a lab. The reason being that (and again this is belief) that it is the cation that is the problem small particles of aluminum are inert as far as the corals are concerned. So in testing they cannot distinguish between the two in the test. My personal opinion is that even if ceramic bio media does leach some amount of aluminum into the water the majority of it is in particle form and not ionic form and the amount of ionic aluminum is so small that any kind of water change maintenance will render it non issue. I run marine pure in my sump and cannot say either way if it is a problem but I have not had any problems that I know of related to the ceramic media.

 

[South City]

If you decide to put chaeto in there and need a light, the 150 watt HPS Floralux mini is a great choice. D2mini used one on his refugium and the growth was amazing. I have one that will be installed over the refugium on my new build. The wavelength put out by the HPS bulb seems perfect for growing algae.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJR4A7796G0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Tradewinds]

I looked into this heavily. There is no conclusive evidence either way. The problem is that it is extremely hard to measure even for a lab. The reason being that (and again this is belief) that it is the cation that is the problem small particles of aluminum are inert as far as the corals are concerned. So in testing they cannot distinguish between the two in the test. My personal opinion is that even if ceramic bio media does leach some amount of aluminum into the water the majority of it is in particle form and not ionic form and the amount of ionic aluminum is so small that any kind of water change maintenance will render it non issue. I run marine pure in my sump and cannot say either way if it is a problem but I have not had any problems that I know of related to the ceramic media.

Thank you for the information.

 

[jtrasap]

your tank looked awesome. Put the rock back in there!

+1

 

[mpcart]

Never? This amazes me with as good as your tank looks.

Nope. Never. If I don't test for it then it doesn't exist, right? That's my theory! I suppose I'll get a couple test kits and add them to my test routine.

If you decide to put chaeto in there and need a light, the 150 watt HPS Floralux mini is a great choice. D2mini used one on his refugium and the growth was amazing. I have one that will be installed over the refugium on my new build. The wavelength put out by the HPS bulb seems perfect for growing algae.

Order placed. I'll let you guys know what I think when it arrives.

Your tank looked awesome. Put the rock back in there!

I put a small pile of rock back in but I don't want all that rock in my sump. It is too hard to clean and catches too much.

Anyone want a pile of 2-year old sump rock?!?!?

-Mike

 

[Nanook]

Nope. Never. If I don't test for it then it doesn't exist, right? That's my theory! I suppose I'll get a couple test kits and add them to my test routine.



Order placed. I'll let you guys know what I think when it arrives.



I put a small pile of rock back in but I don't want all that rock in my sump. It is too hard to clean and catches too much.

Anyone want a pile of 2-year old sump rock?!?!?

-Mike

I need some sump rock