Sump equipment recommendations

[abagail]

Hello! So I have had my tank up and running for a year and a half now and im finally deciding I want to dip my toes in the water of upgrading the equipment for my sump. For context I bought this tank used and the guy didnt give a ton of information on anything besides how to filter and such. I have already decided im getting new bio balls because he had a giant bag of those and what im assuming is crushed coral (??) mixed into it and it is by far the biggest pain to clean as it weighs a ton. With that being said I am going to attach a photo of what the setup looks like now (its dirty I know). All suggestions of things I should add / change are welcome. Also feel free to explain why I should add / or change said things thank you!

 

[abagail]

Heres a better photo, I have no idea what the thing on the right does as the guy never really explained it to me so its just been there existing ever since I got my tank. if anyone could explain what it is, or if there's anything im supposed to be doing with it I would greatly appreciate it

 

[Trickman2]

Hello! So I have had my tank up and running for a year and a half now and im finally deciding I want to dip my toes in the water of upgrading the equipment for my sump. For context I bought this tank used and the guy didnt give a ton of information on anything besides how to filter and such. I have already decided im getting new bio balls because he had a giant bag of those and what im assuming is crushed coral (??) mixed into it and it is by far the biggest pain to clean as it weighs a ton. With that being said I am going to attach a photo of what the setup looks like now (its dirty I know). All suggestions of things I should add / change are welcome. Also feel free to explain why I should add / or change said things thank you!

Is it running now on your system? Are you resetting the system? Is the system not running good?

You are going to mess with the balance of things doing this.

 

[abagail]

Is it running now on your system? Are you resetting the system? Is the system not running good?

You are going to mess with the balance of things doing this.

I mean its running good, but personally I feel it could be a lot better. I do want a to have a reef tank at some point with coral so im not sure if theres things I should invest in to make it easier. Because currently the sump is really just a water basin with a filter and bio balls.

 

[Trickman2]

If I was you I would go with a RedSea Roller mat. https://g1.redseafish.com/hardware/reefmat/

Next I would add a skimmer and slowly remove the bio balls. How big is the tank? Corals? Fish? etc.

 

[Trickman2]

Really need more details and pictures to help you.

 

[abagail]

If I was you I would go with a RedSea Roller mat. https://g1.redseafish.com/hardware/reefmat/

Next I would add a skimmer and slowly remove the bio balls. How big is the tank? Corals? Fish? etc.

It is a 90 gallon, no coral just fish.

 

[abagail]

Really need more details and pictures to help you.

The tank is what id say is the bare minimum, Im deciding now to start working towards a reef tank as my old aquarium light caught fire.

 

[Trickman2]

Right off the bat things I can see. Looks like a UV sterilizer on it. Remove all that metal clips ASAP. Next...Get a Refractometer now to measure Salt if you don't have one.

What is your Budget?

 

[Trickman2]

refractometer

You can get one for 30-40 bucks easy

 

[abagail]

Right off the bat things I can see. Looks like a UV sterilizer on it. Remove all that metal clips ASAP. Next...Get a Refractometer now to measure Salt if you don't have one.

What is your Budget?

I have a refractometer already, will remove the clips. I dont have a budget really set in stone but for the sump alone id say 1000 would be my max.

 

[Trickman2]

I say spend the cash on a redsea Filter roller and Redsea skimmer. If you can get a used Skimmer that wouldn't be bad either. Redsea just seems to be coming out with some nice stuff. The Roller is awesome on my 300 gallon.

 

[X-37B]

I have a refractometer already, will remove the clips. I dont have a budget really set in stone but for the sump alone id say 1000 would be my max.

If that unit on the right has a plug then its a UV steralizer.
Not really needed ar this point, lpus who knows how long it had been running. They need to be replaced every year generaly.

No plup then its most likely a media reactor.

I would run a filter sock, a skimmer, ATO, and a media reactor for carbon & phospate remover to start.

Get all that out of the sump.
You have enough bio going on in your tank.

Have a plan!

Pick your parameter you want to run and keep them in range.
10% water change every month.

Pm me if want additional help.

 

[abagail]

I say spend the cash on a redsea Filter roller and Redsea skimmer. If you can get a used Skimmer that wouldn't be bad either. Redsea just seems to be coming out with some nice stuff. The Roller is awesome on my 300 gallon.

Thank you for the suggestions! I appreciate it. I have to get new wave makers because mine for the life of me wont stay attached but after that I'll work on getting those!

 

[Spare time]

Skip the skimmer. Get a refugium with a good light. Also, you don't need biomedia or bioballs in the sump so that is up to you if you'd like to throw them out. You could put the bioballs into a QT tank too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Heres a better photo, I have no idea what the thing on the right does as the guy never really explained it to me so its just been there existing ever since I got my tank. if anyone could explain what it is, or if there's anything im supposed to be doing with it I would greatly appreciate it

Typical basics are Return pump, filter socks, return pump and optional a reactor such as carbon. Also optional is a refugium area for nitrate reduction

 

[dedragon]

yep change that whole sump around and remove the bio balls. Bio balls are old tech and can contribute to spikes in nitrate and phosphate. Skimmer is a good addition (not a necessity) and they can be found for good prices, aquamaxx makes nice cheap skimmers, reef octopus are pretty nice for a mid price, but there are a lot of good skimmers out there now. I find red sea to be too expensive for what what you get.

As far as changing the sump around, are there baffles in the sump currently or is it just the bioball container?

 

[landlubber]

at about the same time in my reefing career that OP is at is also when i started buying equipment to solve little problems and then over time i phased them all back out.
It just became more of an inconvenience to have 20-something odd plugs to deal with and multiple pumps on the go.

 

[abagail]

If that unit on the right has a plug then its a UV steralizer.
Not really needed ar this point, lpus who knows how long it had been running. They need to be replaced every year generaly.

No plup then its most likely a media reactor.

I would run a filter sock, a skimmer, ATO, and a media reactor for carbon & phospate remover to start.

Get all that out of the sump.
You have enough bio going on in your tank.

Have a plan!

Pick your parameter you want to run and keep them in range.
10% water change every month.

Pm me if want additional help.

The guy I got the tank off of said he had it running for 8 or 9 years I believe so who knows really how long the UV sterilizer has been in use. I currently have been doing two small water changes a month that probably add up to about 10% or a little more. Ive had no issues with my parameters luckily since starting up. I just recently (about a month or so ago) added half the rocks I have in there. Do you have any recommendations as for equipment you personally like in terms of the things you suggested?

 

[abagail]

yep change that whole sump around and remove the bio balls. Bio balls are old tech and can contribute to spikes in nitrate and phosphate. Skimmer is a good addition (not a necessity) and they can be found for good prices, aquamaxx makes nice cheap skimmers, reef octopus are pretty nice for a mid price, but there are a lot of good skimmers out there now. I find red sea to be too expensive for what what you get.

As far as changing the sump around, are there baffles in the sump currently or is it just the bioball container?

It is literally just bio balls mixed with crushed coral