Need advice on my freshwater sump set up

[boudrow]

Hi I'm new and having trouble manuvering on this site so someone suggested I try here. I have a freshwater 75 gal tank with a 20 gal sump. I was given the top tank from a neighbor who used it for saltwater. Had to buy everything for the the bottom sump and it was a DYI project. I killed my 7 year old parrotheads when I transferred them to this new big tank. The tank was cycled for a month and a half. The water parameters were fine. Something is wrong with the build, not sure what. I'll describe the sump starting from the left side. First section has the inflow from the tank and houses the filter sock and I had ceramic media in it with an over the top flow into the next small 3 inch section, followed by a under bottom flow into the next section which is also 3 inches that has an over the top flow into a large section which I had hoped one day to be a refugum. The last section is an over the top flow into the pump area which is the return to the top tank. The first section with the filter sock had a thick film of something floating on the top of the water. I had bought more small fish after the first killing and they all died within a day. two of the black moors got pop eye. Three time I have emptied out the whole system and cleaned it all out. Not I have bio balls and not sure what to do, so all my new fish are in a ten gallon tank for now. Please any help would be appreciated !!

 

[stingrays4]

Hi sorry to hear of your problems. Sounds like it hasn't cycled to me? How did you cycle the tank?

 

[Bully405Customz]

Are you sure all the components you've used are aquarium Safe?

 

[boudrow]

The first time I used a frozen piece of haddock and dropped it in the tank for a month, the 2nd time I bought this expensive stuff to quicken the cycle, and the third time--I had used the fishfood that I had been giving the feeder fish, then the forth time, I used the piece of frozen fish again and let it cycle for a month and a half. All my new fish had lived there for a month until my two black moors died. Then I noticed that slime on the top of the 1st sump section so I took the rest out and put them in the 10 where they have been for a month. I have been doing this for 5 months

 

[boudrow]

Yes the components are safe. Never cleaned the tank out with anything but water. All the plumbing was bought at Lowes. I bought high quality sand. I was wondering if the coating on the top of the first chanber was good bacteria that couldn't make it over the top overflow. Was the first chamber supposed to have an underflow? By the way, the last two to die before I pulled the rest out--were Black Moors and they had PoP Eye

 

[melosu58]

I`m seeing this is a fresh water thread. Moving it to the FW General discussion forum.

 

[boudrow]

Thank you, I hope I just stay on this window and I don't have to move to get responses cause I dont know how to get there

 

[boudrow]

Still looking for someone with knowledge of freshwater sump?

 

[Bully405Customz]

I'm sorry for the desths, that's always sad. But I don't know what else it could be.