Hi. I am new to this site. Very happy I have found it! There is a lot a great information. Wish I had been on this about 10 years ago when I started. Would've avoided a lot of heartache, headache and expense.
Last Mother's Day, I suffered a tank crash and lost nearly everything except for a couple of small shrimp which were tough enough to withstand Armageddon.
I cleaned up the mess and the tank circulated empty for 3-1/2 months. I am now starting to get back into it. Things are going well so far. I have added a hospital tank. I know there is a lot of conversation about that recently on the site. I believe that the addition of a sick fish to an already stressed aquarium is what led to the crash. Hopefully the hospital tank will help avoid that. My goal is to have a reef tank with a significant fish presence (tangs, large angels).
I would like to know what people think about strategies for managing a sump. I have a 240 gallon tank built into the wall of my bar downstairs. There is a 90 gallon sump underneath it. A water flows from the tank into the first chamber contains a protein skimmer, then on to the main chamber which could be used for macro algae and finally its returned to the tank. I don't have any macro algae in there now. I've never been able to keep it well and it always seems to die off. Perhaps that is a symptom of the deeper problem? I do have 2 kessil A80 lights turned to blue spectrum on 24/7. The bottom of my stump is covered with a proximally 2 inches thick stand. It has been there undisturbed for 10 years. I am wondering if I should agitate this and? Should I vacuum it? Should I leave it alone? Should I remove it? Should I add algae to the sump? What about live rock?
Thank you for your time and any feedback that might help me manage my system better.
Sincerely,
Sean
Last Mother's Day, I suffered a tank crash and lost nearly everything except for a couple of small shrimp which were tough enough to withstand Armageddon.
I cleaned up the mess and the tank circulated empty for 3-1/2 months. I am now starting to get back into it. Things are going well so far. I have added a hospital tank. I know there is a lot of conversation about that recently on the site. I believe that the addition of a sick fish to an already stressed aquarium is what led to the crash. Hopefully the hospital tank will help avoid that. My goal is to have a reef tank with a significant fish presence (tangs, large angels).
I would like to know what people think about strategies for managing a sump. I have a 240 gallon tank built into the wall of my bar downstairs. There is a 90 gallon sump underneath it. A water flows from the tank into the first chamber contains a protein skimmer, then on to the main chamber which could be used for macro algae and finally its returned to the tank. I don't have any macro algae in there now. I've never been able to keep it well and it always seems to die off. Perhaps that is a symptom of the deeper problem? I do have 2 kessil A80 lights turned to blue spectrum on 24/7. The bottom of my stump is covered with a proximally 2 inches thick stand. It has been there undisturbed for 10 years. I am wondering if I should agitate this and? Should I vacuum it? Should I leave it alone? Should I remove it? Should I add algae to the sump? What about live rock?
Thank you for your time and any feedback that might help me manage my system better.
Sincerely,
Sean
