Nitrate help...I'm about to cry!!!

[jeffaquarius]

A 2 chamber sump can be used as a refugium as long as you have pre filters on the intakes of the pumps. Its not ideal, but it works

Where do you put the skimmer with that set up?

 

[jeffaquarius]

Your sump seem to be similar to what this other poster has.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f11/moving-water-from-skimmer-to-next-chamber-321581.html

.

 

[bleu]

Ok, so I'm lost. I've cleaned out the sump, sand & I'm letting it dry at this point. Nitrate is still testing @ 40, but my phosphates went down to about 5. In did several 15g water changes, but hasn't seems to make much a a difference.
Now, my intake valve drains water from DT, down the tubing, into the black box over the right side of the sump. Inside that thin box, there is fine media padding. I get the return pump should be in a different chamber than the skimmer and I agree, but being that I do have that piece covering one side of the sump, it's not possible for me to run a hose & return pump... Am I missing something, or not on the right page, cause honestly I'm feeling a bit stupid at this point.


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[jeffaquarius]

I'm not sure but since I see all the components, it seems your sump is designed for an external skimmer. Is there any hole on the outside wall of sump?

 

[Mebbid]

You honestly don't need the extra filter media in the sump. The live rock in your tank should hold all the bacteria you need.

Just put the skimmer in the same section that the water drains into and it should work just fine.

 

[jeffaquarius]

You honestly don't need the extra filter media in the sump. The live rock in your tank should hold all the bacteria you need.

Just put the skimmer in the same section that the water drains into and it should work just fine.

I agree since the high nitrate with no sign of ammonia or nitrite the bb has been doing its job. It follows that you can get rid of that black box and can go ahead just follow what I have suggested. Swap overflow and return pump otherwise your water level where the skimmer is will fluctuate.

 

[bleu]

Ok so how do I go about attaching the hose connected to the black box to the sump? Where do I put it? Or secure it so I don't get a flood?


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[Mebbid]

Ok so how do I go about attaching the hose connected to the black box to the sump? Where do I put it? Or secure it so I don't get a flood?


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What is attached to the pvc right now?

 

[bleu]

The square black box. It is a wet/dry


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[bleu]

To give you a better idea Eshopp cd-150


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[Mebbid]

It depends on how paranoid you are of something bad happening. If it were me personally, I would just put a 1ft - 2ft piece of pvc on the end of it and let it hang in my sump. But then again I don't really worry about things moving and becoming dislodged because I'm the only one that touches my tanks.

You could also:

Make a stand with eggcrate, cut the cover down, and attach it to the eggcrate making a stand in your sump.

Remove the washing machine hose and just hard plumb it all (my favorite)

Make a bracket that will attach onto the side of the tank and will be able to secure the plumbing. You could even do this with some pvc fittings to make it super easy

I have some other thoughts but they would have to be drawn out to make sense

There's a ton of things you can do... It's just how much effort you want to put into it and how creative you are

 

[bleu]

Thanks so much for all the input everyone . I'd love it if you could draw up a few ideas for me! I'll put whatever work needed to get your running as efficient as possible. By the way, would I need a sock to filter water coming down to catch any gunk?


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[jeffaquarius]

You have 2 options. Either to keep the black box with external skimmer or get rid of black box with skimmer in sump. If you choose the later the easiest way is just move the skimmer to the right chamber after removing the black box. The only problem with that is the baffle will no longer be a bubble trap. The best way is to flip the sump so that only the skimmer will be moved to the right side where your overflow is but with the black box removed.

 

[bleu]

Good idea, but the way my stand is, I cannot move the sump or rotate it.


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[jeffaquarius]

Then your only option is just to move the skimmer to the right without the black box. Just extend the pipe with a flexible hose. You can add the filter sock later.

 

[mr_X]

Get one of these-

and get rid of the filter pad box. Though, you can keep the skimmer in the return section if you implement an auto top off to keep the level in that section a constant.
Also, invest in a refractometer, and ditch the inaccurate hydrometer.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Get one of these-

and get rid of the filter pad box. Though, you can keep the skimmer in the return section if you implement an auto top off to keep the level in that section a constant.
Also, invest in a refractometer, and ditch the inaccurate hydrometer.

ATO will still have about an inch of water level differential which can still affect the skimmer.

 

[bond300]

Hello Bleu! How is your tank doing now?

 

[bleu]

Ok...where can I get that clip on sock filter? Is it ok to have the sick filter & skimmer in the same compartment? As for my tank, it's ok. Nitrates dropped to about 20 w/ the large water change...it's a work in progress. Will keep you all posted


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[Mebbid]

Ok...where can I get that clip on sock filter? Is it ok to have the sick filter & skimmer in the same compartment? As for my tank, it's ok. Nitrates dropped to about 20 w/ the large water change...it's a work in progress. Will keep you all posted


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You don't need a filter sock, but they wont hurt anything.