predator fish in sump?

[BoomCorals]

Anyone ever gotten crazy and put a predator fish in your sump for fun? My sump is a 125g tank (probably 90g after you take away the space the totes/skimmer/drain pipes come into). And call me crazy, I'm kinda thinking of putting a predator fish into it for fun. My sump has live rock, light from the ATS, flow, etc.

 

[Cory]

Anyone ever gotten crazy and put a predator fish in your sump for fun? My sump is a 125g tank (probably 90g after you take away the space the totes/skimmer/drain pipes come into). And call me crazy, I'm kinda thinking of putting a predator fish into it for fun. My sump has live rock, light from the ATS, flow, etc.

You can so long as all water intakes are properly gaurdrd. Wouldnt want your fish to get sucked up

 

[alanbetiger]

I plumbed together a 90 gallon predator tank and 190 reef tank, the sump was about 100 gallons. It did okay but the amount of poop from the predators made it a nightmare for the reef. Algae explosions were pretty common. With one you'll probably be okay. I had 2 eels, a lionfish and trigger. Kind of defeats the point of the sump to help increase water volume to dilute issues though. Dilution is the solution to pollution.

 

[BoomCorals]

You can so long as all water intakes are properly gaurdrd. Wouldnt want your fish to get sucked up

Yep I have plastic screwed on guards on all water intakes.

 

[BoomCorals]

I plumbed together a 90 gallon predator tank and 190 reef tank, the sump was about 100 gallons. It did okay but the amount of poop from the predators made it a nightmare for the reef. Algae explosions were pretty common. With one you'll probably be okay. I had 2 eels, a lionfish and trigger. Kind of defeats the point of the sump to help increase water volume to dilute issues though. Dilution is the solution to pollution.

I have a large DIY ATS that does crazy nutrient export, but the poop I didn't think of. I have a CUC in the DT obviously for that kind of thing, plus a ton of corals. But I guess if it gets pumped into the DT for coral/cuc and then back around to the skimmer again it would probably be ok?

 

[alanbetiger]

I have a large DIY ATS that does crazy nutrient export, but the poop I didn't think of. I have a CUC in the DT obviously for that kind of thing, plus a ton of corals. But I guess if it gets pumped into the DT for coral/cuc and then back around to the skimmer again it would probably be ok?

That all depends on your water quality and how sensitive your corals are. You might have to increase your water changes. Definitely doable just don't go overboard on the predator size and feeding is my personal advice. Have you thought about what fish you'd use. Eels I assume are a now go since closing in a sump would be a PITA. Lionfish/poisonous fish will make any maintenance super fun. Some triggers will try to bite fingers too. I know some people handfed their predators but that always scared me too much since my fingers are my livelihood. Honestly if my predators I move the cover just enough to throw in food twice a week and quickly shut it. My hands never entered that one. The jeweled eel was about about two feet and charged any movement. Not trying to discourage you! Just thinking outloud

 

[BoomCorals]

That all depends on your water quality and how sensitive your corals are. You might have to increase your water changes. Definitely doable just don't go overboard on the predator size and feeding is my personal advice. Have you thought about what fish you'd use. Eels I assume are a now go since closing in a sump would be a PITA. Lionfish/poisonous fish will make any maintenance super fun. Some triggers will try to bite fingers too. I know some people handfed their predators but that always scared me too much since my fingers are my livelihood. Honestly if my predators I move the cover just enough to throw in food twice a week and quickly shut it. My hands never entered that one. The jeweled eel was about about two feet and charged any movement. Not trying to discourage you! Just thinking outloud

Honestly I hadn't even thought about what I'd put in there. Definitely not an eel. I don't have to do much in the sump regularly, but of course if I ever need to replace a pump etc I don't want the fish to turn into jaws on me haha. I very much appreciate your feedback and thoughts on it. I've never had any predator fish, so I have zero idea about them. Another option could also be some kind of non reef safe fish that isn't a predator necessarily since there is only live rock in the sump.

 

[wkscott]

If your sump is in a closed stand, you really wouldn't see the fish very much. Why increase your bioload without getting s whole lot in return?

 

[Kmsutows]

How about a mantis shrimp?

 

[wkscott]

Ok for the mantis. They are a little noisy though and will eat any other critters that make it into your sump. If your sump is made of glass, especially thin glass, I wouldn't chance it as they can break the glass when they get large.

 

[alanbetiger]

If you really do have a 90 gallon space and it were me I would use a butterfly. I love the Pearlscale Butterfly look but haven't been able to get one. I like corals too much. Also I've always like simple cheap fish like Domino Damsels. The swimming pattern is fun. I think non-reefsafe wrasses will jump out too easily. On top of bioload they will all eat any pods in your sump. So think a little more about it if you have any dragonets.

 

[BoomCorals]

If your sump is in a closed stand, you really wouldn't see the fish very much. Why increase your bioload without getting s whole lot in return?

My sump is not in a closed stand. It's in my fish room and clearly visible every time I'm in there.

 

[BoomCorals]

Ok for the mantis. They are a little noisy though and will eat any other critters that make it into your sump. If your sump is made of glass, especially thin glass, I wouldn't chance it as they can break the glass when they get large.

Mantis could be interesting actually. It's a 125g so the glass is 3/8" thick. Is that a concern?

If you really do have a 90 gallon space and it were me I would use a butterfly. I love the Pearlscale Butterfly look but haven't been able to get one. I like corals too much. Also I've always like simple cheap fish like Domino Damsels. The swimming pattern is fun. I think non-reefsafe wrasses will jump out too easily. On top of bioload they will all eat any pods in your sump. So think a little more about it if you have any dragonets.

I have no dragonets so sump fish eating pods is ok. Thanks for thinking of it.

 

[Slot]

Waspfish are really cool and stay small enough to stay in a sump their whole life

 

[alanbetiger]

You hear horror stories of Mantis shrimp cracking glass in large aquariums. And you hear people keeping them in 1/4" tanks fine. I don't know which is true. Definitely they can crack glass. 125 gallons (plus whatever overflow from the display) is alot of water to take a chance. You could do a tank inside a tank but a lot harder to keep viewing windows clean.

 

[BoomCorals]

Ok so back to a fish then.

 

[needbiggertanks]

I constantly think about this... thanks for asking/doing it. I have to follow

 

[Lowstorm]

Did it with a mantis. They can break thin glass if it's a big Smasher. A little smasher will be fine. I had a small Smasher in a 5 gallon.

 

[BoomCorals]

I'm actually thinking of a blue throat trigger.

 

[Maddlesrain]

The blue throat I had was very timid, and feeding it was difficult at first. The trigger might actually be happy just being the only fish. They are jumpers through, mine went carpet surfing twice. Thankfully I was home both times. They're really inquisitive and will learn to recognize you though. They're pretty cool fish!