sump design what do you think

ToXIc · Jan 24, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
My sump is set up using the filter floss over eggcrate, which sits over a LR rubble pile. I do have to change the filterfloss, but only once a month, which is no more often than people change out their socks - and its a simple remove, toss, and replace. with the smaller sump, I get multiple pieces out of a single bag, so in the long run its not that expensive.

Can you plz post pics.

Chris quit rubbing in how quiet your skimmer iz. :p

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sirevans reef · Jan 24, 2012

That looks cool. So I am new to r2r and have never built a sump or redesigned one so what do you use to glue it all together that does not hurt your fish and or reef.

poolkeeper1 · Jan 24, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
My sump is set up using the filter floss over eggcrate, which sits over a LR rubble pile. I do have to change the filterfloss, but only once a month, which is no more often than people change out their socks - and its a simple remove, toss, and replace. with the smaller sump, I get multiple pieces out of a single bag, so in the long run its not that expensive.

It's the once a month part that is not good to leave all the waste to rot in the floss for 30 days as it will turn to Nitrate/Phosphate and your water quality is not as good as it can be. IMO never leave things that collect waste (Food or Fish Poop) to rot in your sump.
Bill

Wy Renegade · Jan 24, 2012

ToXIc said:
Can you plz post pics.

Here is an old picture;

poolkeeper1 said:
It's the once a month part that is not good to leave all the waste to rot in the floss for 30 days as it will turn to Nitrate/Phosphate and your water quality is not as good as it can be. IMO never leave things that collect waste (Food or Fish Poop) to rot in your sump.
Bill

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bill - never really gave it much thought in all honesty, as that is the way they are all set-up in this area. But by the same token, doesn't something as simple as LR or a chaeto ball also have the potential to trap or collect waste?

Dowtish · Jan 24, 2012

sirevans reef said:
That looks cool. So I am new to r2r and have never built a sump or redesigned one so what do you use to glue it all together that does not hurt your fish and or reef.

you can purchase silicone that is made to make your tank, and it's completely safe, you just have to let it cure for a few days.

poolkeeper1 · Jan 25, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
Here is an old picture;

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bill - never really gave it much thought in all honesty, as that is the way they are all set-up in this area. But by the same token, doesn't something as simple as LR or a chaeto ball also have the potential to trap or collect waste?

Your use of filterfloss is only flawed by the amount ot time between changing it out, The same goes for Socks if left for a month before replacing them.
The reason you keep your rock and algae cleaner is because you are trapping it before it gets to them.
Either method will work as long as you clean/change them often if not they degrade your water quality more than help it, Kinda like having a dead fish in your tank, Would you leave it for a month?? I think not.
Bill

Wy Renegade · Jan 25, 2012

poolkeeper1 said:
Your use of filterfloss is only flawed by the amount ot time between changing it out, The same goes for Socks if left for a month before replacing them.
The reason you keep your rock and algae cleaner is because you are trapping it before it gets to them.
Either method will work as long as you clean/change them often if not they degrade your water quality more than help it, Kinda like having a dead fish in your tank, Would you leave it for a month?? I think not.
Bill

Makes sense, although I have to say that over the many years I've been keeping reefs I've only ever found a dead fish in the tank once - usually they just disappear ;). Anyhoo, what are your thoughts in regards to how often the floss should be swapped? Every two weeks or more often than that even?

poolkeeper1 · Jan 25, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
Makes sense, although I have to say that over the many years I've been keeping reefs I've only ever found a dead fish in the tank once - usually they just disappear ;). Anyhoo, what are your thoughts in regards to how often the floss should be swapped? Every two weeks or more often than that even?

I change out my Socks every 3-4 Days But weekly would be better than monthly IME. I also keep Vast amounts of SPS in my 105 gal tank so i have good reason to keep my water as pristine as possible, I also feed 2-3 times a day running Eco-Bak and my Po4 levels are in the 4-7 PPB range. It is a pain at times but in the long run pays off.
Bill

Wy Renegade · Jan 25, 2012

poolkeeper1 said:
I change out my Socks every 3-4 Days But weekly would be better than monthly IME. I also keep Vast amounts of SPS in my 105 gal tank so i have good reason to keep my water as pristine as possible, I also feed 2-3 times a day running Eco-Bak and my Po4 levels are in the 4-7 PPB range. It is a pain at times but in the long run pays off.
Bill

Makes sense to me. I'm a minimalist when it comes to fish myself, at the current time I have only a single yellow watchman goby, so I don't feed much or very often - usually once a day and occassionaly I skip days. I also keep very few SPS, mainly montis, which seem to be pretty robust for SPS. Most of what I catch on my filter floss seems to be chaeto that has made its way all the way through the system, but in a months time the floss is generally pretty nasty. I have had issues with some algae here lately so maybe I'll try changing out the floss and little more often and see if that helps. Thanks for the thoughts Bill. OP hope that wasn't taking the thread too far off topic, if it was, my apologies.

poolkeeper1 · Jan 25, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
Makes sense to me. I'm a minimalist when it comes to fish myself, at the current time I have only a single yellow watchman goby, so I don't feed much or very often - usually once a day and occassionaly I skip days. I also keep very few SPS, mainly montis, which seem to be pretty robust for SPS. Most of what I catch on my filter floss seems to be chaeto that has made its way all the way through the system, but in a months time the floss is generally pretty nasty. I have had issues with some algae here lately so maybe I'll try changing out the floss and little more often and see if that helps. Thanks for the thoughts Bill. OP hope that wasn't taking the thread too far off topic, if it was, my apologies.

All's Good, The best Ideas I have learned are from talking to others and tossing methods around. One thing is that there are many ways to have a great tank and one size does not fit all.
I miss getting up in your part of the Country, I used to Drive a Semi and the Northwest is very appealing except for the Cold.
Bill

ToXIc · Jan 25, 2012

Bill do you mean .04-.07 ppm?

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Dowtish · Jan 25, 2012

ppb=part per billion

Don't know how he tests that though

poolkeeper1 · Jan 25, 2012

Dowtish said:
ppb=part per billion

Don't know how he tests that though

There are 2 different Hanna Checkers Low Range and High Range, Phosphate/Phosphorus The Latter reads in PPB While the other in PPM Snap!

Dowtish · Jan 25, 2012

now the question is, what is the difference between phosphates and phosphorus? and what should we really be testing for in our tanks?

poolkeeper1 · Jan 26, 2012

Dowtish said:
now the question is, what is the difference between phosphates and phosphorus? and what should we really be testing for in our tanks?

The difference is it measures in a much lower range, When running a ULNS your Po4 needs to be lower than the Phosphate measures IMO and if you just get Zero all the time your not sure of the true number. There is a formula to turn PPB into PPM It's roughly 3 X your reading Like 4PPB = 0.012PPM It is just more precise in it's measurements.
Bill