New sump added to established 15gal tank

[Huey321]

I’ve had a my tank set up for about 3 months now and it’s had ups and downs but was finally stable with soft corals 2 tiny hermits and a blenny. I wanted to add a 10gal sump with a live sand bed and baffles and after everything was built the soft corals started closing up and staying closed all day, the water was cloudy and now the nitrate levels are starting to rise to 20-40ppm. I moved the heater and main bio-wheel filter down into the sump and the flow did drop some but with the return and flow pump it’s still moving decently.

 

[TX_REEF]

probably the increased flow kicked up some sand, how is everything doing now? Sudden flow changes like that can be the cause of temporary instability. I'd add some carbon in a tightly packed bag in the sump to combat any toxins released by angry softies.

 

[Jesse Sunday]

Where'd you get the live sand you added to the sump? If you disturbed your current sand (diving a portion from your display tank to add to the sump) that might have caused some issues... or if you got new sand from another source and didn't rinse it if might have done the same. I agree with the carbon and also Purigen in a bag.

 

[Huey321]

I’ve had a my tank set up for about 3 months now and it’s had ups and downs but was finally stable with soft corals 2 tiny hermits and a blenny. I wanted to add a 10gal sump with a live sand bed and baffles and after everything was built the soft corals started closing up and staying closed all day, the water was cloudy and now the nitrate levels are starting to rise to 20-40ppm. I moved the heater and main bio-wheel filter down into the sump and the flow did drop some but with the return and flow pump it’s still moving decently.

Where'd you get the live sand you added to the sump? If you disturbed your current sand (diving a portion from your display tank to add to the sump) that might have caused some issues... or if you got new sand from another source and didn't rinse it if might have done the same. I agree with the carbon and also Purigen in a bag.

I got 2lbs of fresh sand from the LFS and rinsed it pretty good before adding it

 

[Huey321]

probably the increased flow kicked up some sand, how is everything doing now? Sudden flow changes like that can be the cause of temporary instability. I'd add some carbon in a tightly packed bag in the sump to combat any toxins released by angry softies.

So I’m thinking heavy metals might have something to do with it. When making the lid for my sump I had to cut the metal lid which is usually used for reptiles and super tiny little pieces of metal fell into the sump. I noticed them yesterday after I made the post and cleaned them out