Can you keep animals in the sump

[Ro Bow]

i saw the thread today on keeping frags in the sump, which was completely new to me. I assume if you can keep frags in the sump you can keep crabs and stuff there to? Just saying because i have a emerald crab who may be destructive later on as i have heard on some threads.

Sorry for the silly question

 

[chandavi]

Absolutely can keep crabs in sump. I had an emerald crab that was not a very good guest in the display. He is happy in the sump!!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

i saw the thread today on keeping frags in the sump, which was completely new to me. I assume if you can keep frags in the sump you can keep crabs and stuff there to? Just saying because i have a emerald crab who may be destructive later on as i have heard on some threads.

Sorry for the silly question

My sump is also referred to as 'sump jail' as fish have been sentenced there for bad behaviors. Some have been returned to main display tank, while others had to get new homes (found others in local DFSMAS forum) or went to LFS for credit.

Remember to feed sump when someone/something is sentenced to sump jail.

 

[snorklr]

you should see the crab in wvneds sump...

 

[rcillig]

I also use my sump for unruly tankmates.

 

[underwaterdan]

I have used my sump for a pair of clowns that wouldn't play well. They love it down there! They have there helping of so many pods!

 

[dwair]

Yep i've got snails/crabs/pods in my sump

 

[mexi757]

Great question! As I have thought about doing the same, but I have the trigger platinum sump with return in it. Would there be any problems to be aware of if anything can get into fleece roller, skimmer or sucked into the return?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Its a good question, I’ve kept a turbo snail down there long term to help clean up. fish as well, mainly as temporary holding, like if I’m taking it back to the store soon.

 

[Gup]

I was seriously injured 3 months after I set up my reef. Unfortunately, a tank crash followed, but I did save 2 Clowns temporarily. At least until I was able to rebuild the display

 

[ApoIsland]

My sump is also referred to as 'sump jail' as fish have been sentenced there for bad behaviors. Some have been returned to main display tank, while others had to get new homes (found others in local DFSMAS forum) or went to LFS for credit.

Remember to feed sump when someone/something is sentenced to sump jail.

I use mine for the same thing. Right now 3 in lockup down in the sump: a blue tang that chews on my favorite zoa colony, a copper banded that eats rock flower anemone, and a coral beauty angel that nips at leptastrea and pocilopora.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Great question! As I have thought about doing the same, but I have the trigger platinum sump with return in it. Would there be any problems to be aware of if anything can get into fleece roller, skimmer or sucked into the return?

Having inhabitants chewed up in pumps & all is not intent. Would use caution if there isn't a barrier (made) to protect inhabitants from sump equipment. While my sump has 3 chambers, due to tight fits & usages in certain chambers, I've had to run longer pump lines and build an eggcrate protection wall in addition to the preconfigured chambers in my sump.

I use mine for the same thing. Right now 3 in lockup down in the sump: a blue tang that chews on my favorite zoa colony, a copper banded that eats rock flower anemone, and a coral beauty angel that nips at leptastrea and pocilopora.

Blue tang was aquired at quarter size, so hearing it may chew zoas is sad. My copper banded butterfly only eats live blackworms (thanks Eastern Aquatics!) and perhaps pods it finds in tank, and we want to expand our rock flower anemones so sad to learn it may chew those anemones..... I like these fish more than corals, but its an argument i will have to make with BF for future FOWLR tank here (and then Morish Idol hee hee)...

 

[ApoIsland]

Having inhabitants chewed up in pumps & all is not intent. Would use caution if there isn't a barrier (made) to protect inhabitants from sump equipment. While my sump has 3 chambers, due to tight fits & usages in certain chambers, I've had to run longer pump lines and build an eggcrate protection wall in addition to the preconfigured chambers in my sump.



Blue tang was aquired at quarter size, so hearing it may chew zoas is sad. My copper banded butterfly only eats live blackworms (thanks Eastern Aquatics!) and perhaps pods it finds in tank, and we want to expand our rock flower anemones so sad to learn it may chew those anemones..... I like these fish more than corals, but its an argument i will have to make with BF for future FOWLR tank here (and then Morish Idol hee hee)...

Yes my blue tang was great for about 7 years until a while after I added a kole tang. The extra food source of algae on the rocks disappeared since the kole is an absolute rock scraping machine. I did not increase food at regular feedings so I think the blue then turned to the zoa to supplement the missing rock algae. I even gave away the kole and put the blue in the sump for a couple months the first time around hoping to rehabilitate his lust for the zoa. First 5 min back in the display he went straight for the zoa. Maybe you can avoid that by keeping him fat and happy all the time.

As for the CBB - This is either my 3 or 4th attempt over the years. The others before him were also great for 6 months or so but then always eventually turn on my RFA. I was feeding this current one PE mysis by hand twice as often as the previous hoping to avoid that fate again. I think the CBB and the RFA is just not meant to be for me. All of the CBB I have kept came from the Philippines so maybe yours is from a different location and you may have a better result.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Yes my blue tang was great for about 7 years until a while after I added a kole tang. The extra food source of algae on the rocks disappeared since the kole is an absolute rock scraping machine. I did not increase food at regular feedings so I think the blue then turned to the zoa to supplement the missing rock algae. I even gave away the kole and put the blue in the sump for a couple months the first time around hoping to rehabilitate his lust for the zoa. First 5 min back in the display he went straight for the zoa. Maybe you can avoid that by keeping him fat and happy all the time.

As for the CBB - This is either my 3 or 4th attempt over the years. The others before him were also great for 6 months or so but then always eventually turn on my RFA. I was feeding this current one PE mysis by hand twice as often as the previous hoping to avoid that fate again. I think the CBB and the RFA is just not meant to be for me. All of the CBB I have kept came from the Philippines so maybe yours is from a different location and you may have a better result.

Now that you wrote it, I can see how a CBB might think those edges of my RFAs are wormy looking.... I'm still going to get a pink RFA (will be 4th in tank - other 3 are oranges) as it will be cool if I can get male/female RFAs breeding going... and if CBB eats them ... well rats - RFA babies look almost like tiny aiptasias which CBBs reported to eat (not yet mine)... Darwin... Right now my CBB is being overly selective and not even eating any spirulina mysis shrimp I saw it eat at LFS... I've been tempting it with all sorts of thawed foods but its been eating & getting fat just eating live blackworms (and maybe pods - but not enough pods to get fat... only restock pods every couple weeks). Just ordered my CBB another 1/4 pound from Eastern Aquatics (and this batch going to try culturing worms to cut down on long term blackworm costs)

Everything is always fine in a reef aquarium right up until it isn't. Knowing what is likely to do what to what other just helps to identify faster the more likely causes (like my true peppermints eating my hammers, which BF wouldn't believe until 4th hammer finally caught peppermint shrimp in act...) so I don't go off researching/chasing wild info because I don't initially want to believe what I've heard and am seeing

@ApoIsland really appreciate you took time to share !!

 

[ZoWhat]

Aa an animal... being sent to the Sump is a lot like a Moscow person being shipped off to Siberia

.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I've had poorly behaving shrimp and crabs relocated to the sump

 

[Onewolf]

For those who have relegated critters to the sump, what is your sump lighting situation?

 

[ApoIsland]

For those who have relegated critters to the sump, what is your sump lighting situation?

cheap led black box over a 40g breeder.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

For those who have relegated critters to the sump, what is your sump lighting situation?

I have an awesome yet inexpensive lighting solution in my sump. Must give credit to @melev who did the research. $3.50 (not typo) for 5k LED from local home improvement store. Comes in pack of 2 for $7 - best inexpensive tip I know!

https://melevsreef.com/articles/inexpensive-refugium-bulb

This is all the coralline algae growth (now scraped off sump wall) from when I was away from home for about a month this summer. I don't have light blocked off from first chamber which is where 'sump jail' is located, so other area has nearly as much light as 2nd chamber shown in picture