refugium or sump?
14 posts • Page 2 of 2
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singapore - Posts: 238
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:47 pm
well im planning on upgrading my 10gal tank to a 30 in about 6months. so i figured that i should just build a sump big enough for the 30 now and run it on my 10 for now. i dont see why it wouldnt work. my grandfather is a plumber and we talked about the water flow and how to set it up properly. once i get a new camera, i will put up some pix for you all to see how we set it up. so do u really think i should just forget about the bioballs and go for LR and Macro in the tank? would anyone reccomend any other filter media to put in there? id like to know asap because we are about to build the champers in the sump so yeahhhh
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
You can keep the bioballs so long as the water that passes over the balls first filters though some kind of filter floss otherwise organics will get trapped and build up in the balls cause nitrate problems.
But, in a reef with enough live rock and sand, the bioballs become redundant and basically pointless and a potential hazard.
In a 30g, you would need 40-60lbs of LR and 1-2in of sand in display or you could do a RDSB in the refugium and also you could put some of the LR in the sump so the display is not so crowded.
Personally, I don't use any mechanical filtration other than skimmer and phosban reactor w/GFO(granular ferric oxide) to absorb phosphates. Once a month for a couple days, I remove the GFO and run carbon in the reactor just in case there is any chemical warfare happening amongst the softies, LPS and SPS coral.
Many different ways to accomplish the same goal but the Berlin method plus sand bed works very well.
PS. You could have the drain to the sump go through a filter sock. This would need to be cleaned once a week or rotate between 2 and always have one clean and ready to go each week.
But, in a reef with enough live rock and sand, the bioballs become redundant and basically pointless and a potential hazard.
In a 30g, you would need 40-60lbs of LR and 1-2in of sand in display or you could do a RDSB in the refugium and also you could put some of the LR in the sump so the display is not so crowded.
Personally, I don't use any mechanical filtration other than skimmer and phosban reactor w/GFO(granular ferric oxide) to absorb phosphates. Once a month for a couple days, I remove the GFO and run carbon in the reactor just in case there is any chemical warfare happening amongst the softies, LPS and SPS coral.
Many different ways to accomplish the same goal but the Berlin method plus sand bed works very well.
PS. You could have the drain to the sump go through a filter sock. This would need to be cleaned once a week or rotate between 2 and always have one clean and ready to go each week.
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singapore - Posts: 238
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:47 pm
very helpful information schigara. You saved my alot of hassel. now i dont have to mess around with anymore acrylic. That suff is aweful to cut with a scroll saw...
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
Your welcome.
Just passing along info from my own experience and from many countless others I have learned from.
If you want some really good info from people with the best tanks around the world, read though all the Tank of the Month winners from the past 6 years at reefcentral dot com. There are some incredible systems out there.
Just passing along info from my own experience and from many countless others I have learned from.
If you want some really good info from people with the best tanks around the world, read though all the Tank of the Month winners from the past 6 years at reefcentral dot com. There are some incredible systems out there.
