Need help with sump ideas

[knukles55]

Well guys I've about had it with macro algaes and deep sand beds in my refugium as my skimmer pump just broke on me and really hasn't skimmed much....... I'm looking into buying another skimmer and removing my deep sand bed. Main question is can my tank biologically function with a skimmer and live rock in the same chamber here's the amount of space I have to work with in the chamber.......9 3/4 X 9 this is for a 30 gallon tank.

 

[trialanderror]

I run skimmer and live rock in the same sump chamber. They work just fine, no issue.

 

[knukles55]

I run skimmer and live rock in the same sump chamber. They work just fine, no issue.

Do you run anything else carbon /gfo

 

[mrx66699]

Live rock and skimmer in the same sump is fine but it will start to trap detritus ....i have a 300 gal sump with 7000gal flow through it and even with that amt of flow it will still build up....used to have about 400lbs in there aoread out and it just trapped things ..after my syatem was running for a year or so I removed it all...

 

[Lacy]

I also use live rock in my sump, but not the same chamber. It does collect detritus so I will siphon it out sometimes. I once had a sump on a smaller tank with live rock. What I did with that one was to put a piece of egg crate up on some feet/legs that were 1.5" high. I cut pvc pipe to make the legs. I then put the rock on top of the egg crate. I tried to put the rock in so that I could get a hose down to the bottom and siphon the detritus out.

Also, a filter sock or pad will help catch some of it if you have the room.

 

[trialanderror]

Do you run anything else carbon /gfo

No GFO, just carbon in a mesh bag when water is yellowish.

 

[rovster]

You don't need a fuge for nutrient control. Only reason I have one is for pod production because a mandarin was a must have for me. Get a good skimmer and call it a day. Carbon in a bag, maybe a gfo reactor. A lot depends on what you want to get out of it.