Sump is almost finished... what do I do with the little space left?

ambergris caye

New member
I'm building a 29g sump for 75g- sps reef. by the time I get my aqua c ev 180, bubble trap and return area done, there isn't much room for any live rock or plant life. I run gfo and since running it on another system my chaeto doesnt grow as well. I'm thinking of just throwing in some mangroves and a twist light in where I can. Maybe near the skimmer out area. Any ideas?
 
Agree with reefermad. I wouldn't bother with mangrove. They grow really slow, and don't help water quality much for the space.
 
For your chaeto not growing well, have you tried using a chelated iron supplement? Iron can be a bottleneck in macroalgae growth, as it gets used up and also tends to precipitate in pH of a reef. Freshwater Fe supps might not work, need 'chelated' product.

Good luck! :)
 
You could try some iron for the Chaetomorpha, but lighting or a lack of nutrients could be an issue, too. I agree that mangroves won't do much, but they might be fun to grow.
 
I agree that mangroves won't do much, but they might be fun to grow.

Would be neat to have space for an indoor mangrove forest, in an enclosed glass patio! If that big, would certainly help export nutrients, and help provide food chain!
 
yeah I would like a small mangrove forest I think. I have been reading up on iron and might give it a try.

What is interesting is that halmedia is growing fine next to the chaeto. I posted in the plant forum about this today.
 
What is interesting is that halmedia is growing fine next to the chaeto. I posted in the plant forum about this today.

FWIW, halimeda grows in my main tank while chaeto barely grows (if at all) in my refugium. The main tank is a lot brighter, but the halimeda may also be more efficient at obtaining nutrients from the water.
 
Maybe halimeda would be a good choice for this particular sump. I have no problem keeping calcium and alk high. I like the idea of growing what I can grow. I may eventually find a need to prune it.
I dicovered the halimeda in the main tank growing in live rock, and moved it to the sump.
 
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