My Sump/ Refugium Is Done YEY !!!

[Civicdemon]

Hey guys so as in my older post with using the sterlite countainers for my sumps, That did not work.

So i got some more cash toghether and i went with 2 Eshops rs100, I still put them toghether with the pipes in the middle to give more more volume and room for the refugium. Unfortunetly they are pretty high at 16 inches and did not give me any room to remove the skimmer for maint, So i had to cut into the sump on the top about one and a half inch so have access to the skimmer.

HAd a problem with microbubbles from the skimmer making it into my return section so i put the sponge in place and i also put another sock infront of the pump and that seems to have solved the problem.

Anyways here some pictures of the work. Protein skimmer is in and hopefully breaks in soon and starts collecting crap.

Still going to go get some Bigger pieces of live rock for the Refugium and a CUC for it also.

 

[Old_Moe]

Congrats! looks like you do very clean work... hope it works great for you.

just a side note, I dont have one... but I have heard people warn others about using a sponge ( from what I remember, think it has to do with Nitrates ),,, the micro bubbles could just be your skimmer breaking in... it may settle down in a week or two ( mine did )


Look Good

 

[little_fish]

+1 old moe

the sponges tend to trap organic particles which rot, leaving you with a nitrate problem. Better to just install a bubble trap if you continue to have bubble issues after the skimmer is broken in

 

[Civicdemon]

So how would i go about installing a bubble trap being as its already in use now. ?? Hopefully onese the skimmer breaks in it wont be necesery. I tested my water today after the install and my nitrayes actually went up a bit. Hopefully it goes back down if not ill be doing another water change tommorow. Its around 15 ppm right now. Im usually between 5 and 10.

 

[little_fish]

You would have to pull the sump offline for a day or two and silicone in a baffle. But I'm not sure how much pressure the second baffle is under, if it's not much you might be able to just clip a second baffle in place

 

[Bluesaltwater87]

Dude i think your sump looks great. Keep it up. and i have never had a NItrate problem in my system and i have 2 bubble trap sponges. and i only clean them once a month. and my system is showing 0ppm for nitrates.

 

[Bifferwine]

Really nice job. It looks fantastic. +1 on the sponges -- lots of people use them, but they should be cleaned frequently.

 

[Civicdemon]

OK Thanks everyone, I Went ahead and put and aditional 9 pounds of live rock in the refugium, I got 3 midium pieces that i used in the Far left side of the Fuge then i moved most of all the small pieces over to the other side of the Refugium Baffles where the Pipes connect the 2 sumps toghether. So know theres a total of about 13 pounds of live rock in the refugium.

Also got some Cheato from my LFS along with a new bottle of copepods. The only thing i really dont like about the cheato i get from there is that its mixt with Macro, I hope this is still good. Also aclimated the pods and then dumped them in the refugium.

Ill Post pics of the Refugium Soon. I still need to get a clean up crew for it. planning on ordering it from ReefCleaner, But its been pretty hot lately so im going to wait for it to cool down a bit first. I Also noticed there where a couple worms inside the Cheato MAcro mix, they kinda look like earth worm but smaller, Are these OK ???

Anywhoo ill post more pics of the refugium tommorow.

 

[Bifferwine]

The worms sound like bristleworms, which are fine. Chaeto is a type of macroalgae. It sounds like there is some caulerpa mixed in with the chaeto. That's fine too, but if the caulerpa starts growing quickly, I would try to pick as much of it out by hand as you can to try to control it. It is a less desirable type of macroalgae than chaeto is.

 

[Civicdemon]

Will they still both do there job Toghether ???? The lady at the fish store said i can use the stuff thats mixt in with the cheato to feed my tangs when it grows more.

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes, they will both do the job, and tangs normally like eating both of them.

 

[Civicdemon]

OK Cool Thanks alot. Im so exited, i cant wait for my skimmer to break in, How do i know when its broken in, couse right now i have it on low and the bubles are at the neck of the collection cup, i know they say when it breaks in i need to turn it up a bit more so i was just wondering how i know its broken in.

 

[Bifferwine]

It normally takes a week or two. You will just have to try it out every few days to see if it's working yet. You want the bubbles to be high enough to spill into the collection cup and create a brownish-greenish liquid, but not high enough that the liquid is clear.

 

[Civicdemon]

So i have another qestion Biff, Ok so i have ben doing water changes every week now since i have had everything set up, from what i have read some people can go as long as a month with out a water change when they have there sump and refugium set up. im not really looking to go that long but 1 time every 2 weeks would be good for me or even better every 3 weeks. I alwys do 20 or 25 gl water changes. How will i know if im good to start pushing back the schedual ????

 

[Bifferwine]

Once every two weeks is fine. You don't know if it will work for you until you try it. Give it a shot, and if your water parameters stay good, then you can stick with the once every two week schedule.