Brain Blast!!!

[Thartsockpg]

Ok so ive been trying to make a DIY sump and i just had a brain blast. what if i used something like a brute container in a cylinder shape maybe 30 gallons, then to make a refugium chamber i would use a egg crate to hold up chaeto or kalurpa algae to get more light. then have maybe a power head below that chamber and a return pump at the bottom going through the egg crate. maybe find a way to add a DSB. and i still have to figure out to hoe to add a skimmer maybe on some more egg crate.
would this work?
ill try and make some kind of diagram.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Yeah, itd work. A lot of people do it, but I doubt they put powerheads under it, why are you doing that? A Dsb would be good too, but thatd be a ton of sand. How big is the display?

 

[crister13]

Yes. It would work.

 

[Thartsockpg]

Display is 30 gallons. I'm trying to get as much of it to be a refugium as I can. Maybe even hold some frags once my colonies are big enough to be fragged. also for the deep sand bed I don't know if it would be deep but there would be a sand bed down there for little things to live in.

 

[needmorecowbell]

It would be fine then, if you have the room, go for it definitely. Yeah, the sand will still have bacteria in it, just dont stir it ever, which is something you wouldn't normally hear, but you want the least amount of dead bacteria possible.

 

[Thartsockpg]

I don't understand why I would or wouldn't stir the sand bed?

 

[Mrc8858]

When you stir the sand you can potentially release years of built up debris/ammonia/phosphates and in large amounts that could halm all your inhabitants. That's if you don't rake and vac your sand bed. Some people do every water change so its not so much an issue.

 

[Thartsockpg]

Ok. Is it OK if I start to do that with a system that is 6 months old? Also any ideas on how to add a skimmer to the brute container?

 

[Mrc8858]

Is the skimmer HOB or in sump? If you wanna begin cleaning your sand bed then just vac small areas everytime you do a water change so you don't realease to much into the system. I'd break it down into 5-6 sections and do one at a time. If you see any signs of spikes do a test and you may need another water change.

 

[Keithhjs]

You could run a hang on, use it external, or add a spot in it to sit (sump style).

 

[Thartsockpg]

Its hang on the back for now. I'm just thinking in the future.