What the best idea for reef sump

[Volpone]

Hello reefers :
I want ur help for my reef tank sump , I have soft with some Lps coral tank , I have cheato refuigium in my sump and bio pellets reactor , do u recommend to add crush coral to my sump ?and remove the sponge pad ??? Because some one told me the reason of my nitrate because the sponge pad !!!
Do I will have any problem in the future from ur experience from the crush coral ??
And for the dirt thing which will gather under it ??
Plz ur suggest

 

[DSP]

I wouldn't add crushed coral to your sump,crushed coral collects to much detritus and you have to keep it very clean if you use it.And there's no benefit in adding it to your sump realy unless you have a barebottom display tank and u use the crushed coral in the sump for buffering reasons.But even then some argue it doesn't even help buffer realy.The sponge pad you use is it to help stop micro bubbles?

 

[DSP]

And yes if you don't keep any sponges in your tank clean they they collect junk and nitrates will go up because of it.

 

[Volpone]

@dsp I have an argue with a reefers in UAE , I'm living in Dubai , and there is a lot recommend to remove the sponge pad and exchange it with crush coral , they said it will work like mechanical filter and no worries about the diets which will gather between and under of the crush coral , it will be a plenty environment place for good bacteria , and the sponge will keep my nitrate high ???
I used to clean the sponge pad every two weeks and still have the nitrate reading 25 ppm ,
I do water change every two weeks with RO water and nothing break down the nitrate

 

[Volpone]

I use the sponge pad in the second chamber of the sump for that heavy dirty which skimmer not take out from the water .
My sump three chamber first for skimmer second for the refugium and cheato , third return pump , so I put the sponge pad before return pump

 

[Volpone]

Up .......

 

[kes]

some live rocks will be good as it will help foster growth of copepods and other invertebrates, which then becomes food for main tank fish

 

[Volpone]

Thx kes .
Wanna ask is it true the sponge pad release more nitrate in water , I'm getting crazy of the nitrate its not going down with all what I tried of water change weekly cheato refugium bio pellets reactor ???

 

[PmCarbrey]

Thx kes .
Wanna ask is it true the sponge pad release more nitrate in water , I'm getting crazy of the nitrate its not going down with all what I tried of water change weekly cheato refugium bio pellets reactor ???

I'd start with removing the sponge, often all kinda of junk gets caught in sponges which leads to a constant nitrate problem!

 

[Volpone]

I'd start with removing the sponge, often all kinda of junk gets caught in sponges which leads to a constant nitrate problem!

That is idea of our discussion , what stuck and caught by sponge release more nitrate in water , and when they recommend crush coral in order to let it work as mechanical filtration and nothing will stuck on crush coral and the bacteria will handle all the junk

 

[Volpone]

Hello mate any more suggestions or help to decide about my refugium ? Shall I keep sponge pad or remove it ? Add the crush coral or not good idea ?

 

[mcarroll]

Anything down there will cause turbulence which helps detritus settle.

With that in mind I wouldn't put anything down there you don't need AND want to clean around. You are making an extra detritus trap to clean.

If you do put extra stuff down there jn spite of this, at least do yourself the service if making it easy to clean and easy to remove.

For example, put sand in a removable tray vs just dumping it in. Etc...

The best policy IME is to keep your sump as clean, open and free-running as possible.

-Matt

 

[mcarroll]

Forgot to add: If you decide to use sponges for anything, you have to realize how efficient they are at trapping food and poop, how much Nitrate (etc) they can release and how often you will need to clean them...which is very likely do be daily.

With rare exceptions I strongly recommend not using mechanical filtration in a reef. Even with the best if intentions to keep it clean it usually becomes a problem.

-Matt

 

[Volpone]

Forgot to add: If you decide to use sponges for anything, you have to realize how efficient they are at trapping food and poop, how much Nitrate (etc) they can release and how often you will need to clean them...which is very likely do be daily.

With rare exceptions I strongly recommend not using mechanical filtration in a reef. Even with the best if intentions to keep it clean it usually becomes a problem.

-Matt

Thx bro for ur support and help peace