Do you have a filter on your return pump?

[TLTGF]

I have a reef tank, and it seems that whenever I do a pwc, I immediately need to do another because as soon as my pump kicks on it sends out a TON of nasty crap flying into the tank.

I'm not sure if this is because I have no filter on my pump, or what it is exactly.

 

[mr_X]

that nasty crap will get eaten and collected by the skimmer, and it's good to free it from the pipe. it's not from the sump.
i don't use a filter on my return pump though, because i don't want tiny critters to be restricted from heading back to the DT.

 

[Bige]

I do. How is your system setup? Is the return on your sump?

 

[TLTGF]

I initially thought that it was coming from the sump because I had a good 1/2" of detritus build-up - but last week or so I removed my sump, took out all the rock - and cleaned the sump out. The next water change the same thing happened.

My pump is in the sump.

I just wanted to make sure all of the stuff getting kicked out wasn't going to add a bunch of nitrates or other undesirables... It settles out pretty quickly, within 30-45 minutes, I can't even notice.

As I said, I just wanted to ensure it wasn't detrimental to the water quality.

I also didn't have a filter for the same reason - lots of pods in sump.

 

[mr_X]

it's already in the system. if it's going to add nitrates, it already would have.

 

[TLTGF]

Right... Out of sight, out of mind. I can't believe I didn't think of that. LOL!

Thanks!