Sump Questions??

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gooyferret

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jun 7, 2003
Messages
863
Location
Mankato MN
now i know most of you know that i have a 58gal with a 20gal sump... :D
Since i have asked so many questions and have had some AWESOME answers! But what im wondering is in my sump i have 3 sections, 1st one is overflow where the water from main tank comes into my sump, that is with bioballs, it then drains to my #2 section (middle part) this is where my skimmer is located, it the goes through a filter which i made of egg-crate and 100% polyester, into section #3 the return pump this is all that i have in my sump is there anything i should add for better filtration? My water now is crystal clear, but i just wanna make sure it stays that way :)
 
Well I would remove the bioballs and the polyester. Both of these will trap detrius then filter your water through it and create nitrates. If you do remove them, only remove a small amount at a time to avoid taking too much toll on your bioload.
 
why would you think i should get rid of the bio balls? i have a 58 gal with 50lbs live rock ? are the bioballs unimportant are they harming my sump? One thing i dont understand completely is why have a sump if theres no filtration down there?
 
A sump is a good place for equipment such as a skimmer and dosing/top off pump. It also makes water changes a snap by allowing you to put new water into the sump via gravity and pump it up to the main tank. A sump allows you to monitor/regulate water level better since it is more sensitive to water level changes. A sump needs no biofiltration or mechanical filtration to be helpful and beneficial.
 
I just have ChemiPure Bags (Chemical filtration) in my sump ... along with the skimmer, two heaters, my PH monitor probe & thermometer
 
well i have egg-grate and 100% polyester filter in there is that a good thing or not....should i remove it? I have 50lbs of live rock in a 58gal tank is that enough? and about 3inches of live sand any more suggestions?
 
In my humble opinion...I used to use a poly filter to remove nitrates from my change water...now I have a RO/DI filter. I used to use Poland Spring before that...my local water has nitrate and phosphate....I use the chemi pure as an extra....It's not neccesary...but in my opinion, beneficial
 
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