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building a sump


Sally J

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I've made the sump and my good man :hail: helped me fit it in the cabinet.....we ended up having to cut the floor out as the original floor was made of custom wood!!! :x So now I have a new floor of marine ply with my new sump! :bounce: :bounce: I have a compartment for a refugrum???spelling...so now I am after the green stuff to go in it. I thought I might get some miracle mud I saw in Holliwood when I was there last....I have also got lots of coral rock which unfortunatly has been out of water for ages...now how do I get it "seeded" so that I don't get major changes in my water if I added it to the new sump. I used the orriginal media I had running in the trickle filter, which I still have running, I just extended the length of the whole sump....it looks great. Any advice from you experts out there??? I am having trouble with nitrates though still :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: .....and my soft corals suffer, my mushrooms and leathers don't do well. I have been changing about 280lt water every 2 weeks.....its a 700lt tank....I did one yesterday, and will do another tomorrow....see if I can crack it. My tank is really coming on great.. :D:D:D ..wish I knew how to post pictures ....

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Wow, thats a bunch of questions.

refugrum???spelling

refugium :lol:

so now I am after the green stuff to go in it

Caulerpa, there should be some one local with some, but if not it can be posted to you.

I thought I might get some miracle mud I saw in Holliwood

The only miracle is that people still buy it, apparently it's been analyzed and it is just garden dirt, even had decaying plant matter in it.

I have also got lots of coral rock which unfortunately has been out of water for ages...now how do I get it "seeded" so that I don't get major changes in my water if I added it to the new sump

So long as it is clean just put it in the sump, it will get seeded from your other rock. It would only cause changes to your water if it has lots of 'stuff' on it that starts breaking down. If it is dirty do a google search on "cooking live rock" basically involves putting it in a dark barrel of salt water and letting it stu for a few months.

I used the orriginal media I had running in the trickle filter, which I still have running, I just extended the length of the whole sump....it looks great. Any advice from you experts out there??? I am having trouble with nitrates though still

The trickle filter is at least one of the causes of your nitrate problems, best thing to do is remove it slowly, maybe 1/4 per month to let the balance of the tank adjust. I guessing you have sand in the tank as well, more than 1cm and less than 15cm? If so its highly likely this is full of rotting detritus.

wish I knew how to post pictures

Have a look at this.

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2406

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Yes I have a Deltect skimmer. The old sump had two trickle filters, so I got the sump made with just one, and made sure that it was easily cleaned...and the gap at the bottom big enough to syphen the gunk out. So, is it best to just fill up the sump with coral rock, and not have trickle?? Does anyone know where I can get some caulupra from??? I do have sand on the bottom of my display tank, I have a anenomi thingy whos body needs to be buried in the sand....I have built up the corner of the tank with rock so the sand is deeper here, I do syphen the sand every water change I do....the rest of the floor is covered with sand which is more that 1cm and less than 15...oh boy....what should I do now??

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Don't panic too much about he sand, sometimes depending on the live stock you have to use it. If your keeping it syphoned it should be okay. You can usually tell if it is full of dirt by giving it a quick stir (just not too much!) you will see the cloud of dirt come up if there is much in there.

My sump is full of coral rock. It gives you similar surface area to that your trickle filter media does, plus will have the denitrifying bacteria deep inside that will reduce your nitrates. Sounds like you have it under control, but if your trickle filter media does get dirt in it, it will start to produce nitrate.

Do a bit of research on "the Berlin method" it is the most common way by far of keeping a marine tank now days and simply involves live rock, skimmer and lots of water movement.

Does anyone know where I can get some caulupra from???

Try posting a wanted to buy add. I would sent you some but am getting very little growth from mine now and just removed what I could get at to give to some one else.

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Thanks Sephew, that has made me feel alot better!! I did another water change today and a syphon....I'll test for nitrates tomorrow after work. My trickel filter was really dirty when I took the original one out....I will gradually take out the coarse filter "fibre" stuff and just fill it up with coral rock instead, I will have to keep the sand though, I have two little fish that keep us entertained for hours digging holes in it and spitting out the sand...the only issue I have now is my RO unit doesn't run well with low pressure, and the river has been in flood, so I only get half a bucket each time I try to use it....no humans are allowed to drink it either!!!!

I shall look into putting a post on the wanted site for some caulupra, there are no locals here in Blenheim, so I shall have to have it posted from somewhere.

Thanks for all the advice, its been really great....when Carol gets home from overseas I shall book a lesson on how to post photos!!!

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