Help with sump

[DanielReef1]

Hi All,

I have been successfully keeping a 21g Aqua Medic Blenny for two years and have recently upgraded to a Red Sea Reefer 350 now that I have the basicsunder control.

My question is regarding sump setup.

By the looks of it its a two chamber sump with a bubble trap. The first chamber will house my skimmer and my media reactor. The chamber with the return pump will be bare.

I have a bit of marine pure balls that i havent used and was thinking of using them in the first chamber as passive media ie just let the water flow around them. Cant hurt ?

The chamber with the return pump seems a waste. I was thinking of partitioning this and having some cheato or similar in here. I dont want to go the full refugium path but I thought it couldnt hurt to have some form of nutrient removal here. Otherwise I could have live rock rubble in there.

Any thoughts. Please not I do not want to set up a full refugium.

Many thanks

 

[rt67ghy]

I think the idea of chaeto is good also the the marine balls but I wouldn't put rubble in the sump because it'll collect detritus which will be more problematic to get out.

 

[ericarenee]

Remember the Return chamber will fill up with some water when there is a power OUTAGE.. Sometimes the skimmer chamber will as well depending on how the baffles are Configured. Before you modify it or reduce its size unplug your return pump and see how much back water you get... You need to use this method to Determine your Sump Running water level and Max level to be sure you do not put too much water in the sump so that a power outage will over flow the sump onto the floor...

 

[DanielReef1]

My understanding is to turn off the pump skimmer etc and let the overflow drain to the sump. Remove any water to make ensure sump doesnt overflow then restart equipment. Mark the water line on the return pump chamber then adjust auto top off to ensure this level is not exceeded....is this correct.

I see many sumps with lots of live rock rubble in them. Obviously this is to increase the amount of media in the overall system but I understand its not required if you have sufficient live rock in the tank.

As for chaeto. Im thinking possibly a separate basket in the return pump chamber. A small light run on a 12 hr cycle and that should help with nutrient transfer. Im not a big fan of the deep bed refugium or mangroves as they tend to be messy.

Please keep the thoughts coming.

Thanks

 

[thegrun]

The bio balls are likely to increase your nitrate levels, best to skip them.

 

[DanielReef1]

Ok Thanks, Whats the point of people putting marine pure blocks etc in their sumps ?

Thanks

 

[ericarenee]

My understanding is to turn off the pump skimmer etc and let the overflow drain to the sump. Remove any water to make ensure sump doesnt overflow then restart equipment. Mark the water line on the return pump chamber then adjust auto top off to ensure this level is not exceeded....is this correct.

I see many sumps with lots of live rock rubble in them. Obviously this is to increase the amount of media in the overall system but I understand its not required if you have sufficient live rock in the tank.

As for chaeto. Im thinking possibly a separate basket in the return pump chamber. A small light run on a 12 hr cycle and that should help with nutrient transfer. Im not a big fan of the deep bed refugium or mangroves as they tend to be messy.

Please keep the thoughts coming.

Thanks

The thing is with a Refugium. if you do not have it big enough its going to do you no good.. There are people who have a fist size amount of fuge plants and think its Really helping. They are mistaken in my opinion and research i have read... The sump is a place for equipment for the most part. You can put rock in there if you wish. But if your not having any real issues i would not.. I think GFO is a much better fit for a small under tank sump then fuge.. Bio Ball i to agree can be bad if you cant keep them clean ...

For your size tank You are way OVER THINKING THIS.
WATER CHANGES AND ATO (AUTO TOP OFF) Sparse stocking and Not over feeding....
Most of the things you mention above when all put together can help battle nutrients but are really meant for larger mature systems. Due to trying to reduce water changes as they can be expensive on a 200 gallon plus tank...

So my Conclusion.
High end skimmer tuned well
Weekly water Changes with RO/ DI SALTWATER 0 TDS.
Keep bio load down by not over stocking..
NO Over feeding...
**** AUTO TOP OFF ********** A MUST For a small water volume .
If you still have Phosphate issues GFO....
Good Luck

 

[DanielReef1]

Ok, Given Im going to be running a pellet reactor with all in one pellets from day one I think Ill just run it clean to start with. Im going to seed the marine pure balls in the old tank and them use these in the sump for the first couple of weeks to help with cycling.

What are your thoughts on using some of the substrate and water from old tank to help get the new one going ?

Many many thanks guys

 

[rt67ghy]

Ok Thanks, Whats the point of people putting marine pure blocks etc in their sumps ?

Thanks

Marine pure balls as opposed to bio balls are made of ceramic and are extremely porous and provide a large surface area for bacteria that process ammonia and nitrites. I think a 1.5" ball is supposed to have a surface area of 250 sq. feet according to the manufacturers. It works like live rock, so if you have a lot of these in your sump you wouldn't need much LR in your DT. I'd keep them but during maintenance I'd take them out to remove any detritus that has built up around them. It would help if you keep them in a plastic basket/tray so you can lift the whole thing out and rinse them with tank water before putting them back in.