Triton Sump Questions

[VJV]

Hi, I am interested in the Triton method and two things have stood out, which I would much appreciate if someone could shed some light.

The Triton FAQs page states the following :

- You meed 10x turnover in your sump.

Why is this necessary? I am much more in the camp of keeping the flow through the sump low (3-5x max) in order to allow filtration time to do its thing.

- You should NOT use leds to light the refugium. Only T5.

Again, why? What is the reason for this? Kessil for instance has some great plant grow leds (in fact, it is where it comes from and still pretty much its core business)


Interested to know the reasons for this if someone can chime in [emoji4]

 

[twilliard]

The led statement may be based on led fixtures that do not support the growth of algae based on spectrum.
You are correct that you can use anything that supports plant life.

 

[Matze]

Hi

You need to have the 10x flow to have closer water parameters in your display and in your sump. So algae fir example can get to the nutrients available. Also you want to maximise the amount of water that is pushed through the filtration, to get a better "cleaning" result.

For example when I changed over to Triton I upgraded from a 4x turn over to a 12x turn over. My test results showed with nothing changed but the pump a significant drop in PO4 and a slowly sinking rating of stuff the carbon would take out (Barium for example).


The light thing is more of a experienced based suggestion. Many people reported that the algae growth is much faster using T5s.
But I for myself think there is LED lights just fine to grow algae.

Hope that helps

 

[VJV]

Thanks! I understand the rationale but find it hard to believe that there are significant differences between the water in the tank and in the sump. Would actually be curious to get two samples triton tested from the same aquarium (one with a low turnover rate), one from the sump and another from the display tank, and actually verify this claim.

I also do not believe that making the water pass more times (faster) through the filter will yield a better result in itself. Kind off like increasing the flow through a UV actually renders it ineffective because there is less contact time.

Where I now see some possible benefits though is in terms of getting the nutrients (both dissolved as well as non dissolved organics) from the display and into the sump. Oftentimes we have a lot of flow in our tanks (50x plus) but because it is poorly designed it ends up pushing the detritus away from the overflow and keeps them constantly floating in the tank instead of getting them into the sump. A higher return pump speed will be more effective at removing those debris from the water column and into the sump.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Matze]

No problem Love to talk Triton!

That would be quite interesting.
I just have the complete tanks test results not split into refugium/sump and display.

Well as far as the filter thing goes, when applying the Triton methode, there's just the skimmer, which most of the time in itself is constructed to offer the longest possible contact time. The rest of the filter is just algae and carbon/adsorber. In my experience especially carbon and adsorber will profit from a higher turn over rate because of their abilities to take out things out of the water very quick.
As mentionend the results have shown a decrease of some elements the carbon and adsorber would take in. So I figure the higher turn over does help there.

But I know somebody who is much more knowledgeable than me,when it comes to Triton.

Shoot an Email to Ehsan, the big boss of Triton. He also started a Forum just for Triton.
He and his team can give you the exact and scientific reasons for the turn over rates and so on
And that's what Triton all is about.

 

[VJV]

Thanks again! Have not spoken with Ehsan but have seen several YouTube videos. One last thing: do you run filter socks? I see that they are not recommended by triton but wonder how does that work for you. Do you have to clean your sump often?

 

[Matze]

No, I don't use them, because it ain't necessary.

The water goes from the display to the fuge. All material that comes down to the pipes settles there and offers a food source for pods and all that stuff. Just a tiny bit ends up in the sump area.

I do not see any problems in high nutrients, so I just leave the material where it is.

And so does Triton on it's showtank if I remember correctly

I highly recommend talking to Ehsan or his wife. Those peoples knowledge about reefing is insane

 

[VJV]

Will do!

 

[Tim@Triton]

Hi Guys

The recommendation for having the system turnover at 10 times the volume comes from experience. We have seen over the years that systems with a slow turnover in effect create 2 distinct "zones" in which you can end up with a different set of conditions in your main tank to your sump. Different nutrient levels or even differences such as dissolved O2 levels. The higher turnover ensures that the water is exchanged regularly enough to remain consistent between the two areas of the system.

The reasoning for T5 lighting over LED for the algae again comes from experience that with T5 or CFL etc we have found that you can grow a broader range of macro algae species. We recommend using as many different species of algae as possible as each different species has a different set of parameters that it will thrive in and become dominant in the refugium. While the LED may be perfect for growing Chaeto it may not be as good for growing Caulerpa so when the time comes and your parameters shift slightly and a different species of algae now wants to become dominant if the light is not capable of delivering the correct spectrum for that species then the refugium can start to lose it's efficiency. That being said LEDs have moved on a lot in the last few years! So if you find an LED fixture that works for you and all the species of algae that you keep then all is good in the world.

I hope this explains some of the reasoning behind the recommendations.

 

[VJV]

Many thanks Tim and all who chimed in. The support you get from the community alone makes me want to dive into Triton [emoji4].

 

[diablomaster9045]

Just some feedback for LED's on the Fuge, I strongly recommend a Finnex Planted+ 24/7. My 12" x 18" x 10" sump section the chaeto doubles every week. Every Saturday I pull out 1/2 the Chaeto it grows so fast.

 

[hyperionfall]

6500k is the key on the lights.