LR only in sump problem?

Ok so I no longer have room in my new sump for a fuge due to the fact my new skimmer is much bigger than my old 1, so it has to sit in the section where my fuge would normally go,also put about 50 lbs of LR in that section.

My question is am I creating a nitrate factory with just the LR sitting in there?

 

depends on if you keep it kinda cleaned... some people are gonna say it good and some people are gonna say yeah its a nitrate factory, if you keep it blown off and the bottom area clean then you will be fine and will be beneficial for your system..

my fuge has a deep sand bed and cheato, no live rock

 

live rock is great to have in your sump for added biological filtration. However if you have sufficient amount of LR in your DT already, I would personally rather have chaeto in the sump rather than LR. To me, macro algae is a crucial part of any setup. Or at least some sort of nutrient removal such as a reactor or turf scrubber. But, every setup is different and everyone will have different views and opinions. I personally only do water changes about every 3-4 months so a fuge is a must for me.

 

I just removed all the LR out of my sump 2 weeks ago. Even with pumps and flow, detritus still settled there and I ended up with Cyano forming all over my chaeto and in my return section and then in my Display. Since removing all excess LR from the sump, and even some from the display, my cyano problems are just about gone. What I've learned by this experience, too much LR is not good if you can't provide enough flow around it. Specifically, stacking the LR in piles.

 

well my skimmer is an asm g2 so its pretty bulky but its a beast so i got to keep it in there, im also putting a TLF phosban reactor in there with NP pellets thought maybe if I keep the return flow toward the bottom and removed the rock every now and then to clean out the detritus (it's not under my stand so i have full access to the sump) it might work better?

 

LOVE IT. Could you elaborate on your setup, and if its FOWLR or reef? I also think this way, and think the "weekly 10%" that alot of people do is ridiculously overkill.

 

if you have plenty of live rock in your tank, and no room for fuge, then just remove the rock and just use it for all of your equipment. I dont think you have to have a fuge, and you don't want to take a chance of build up in your sump.

 

Ya.. .why do you think you need 50 lbs of LR in your sump. It is not best utilized there. Bio pellets are your nutrient export. You are trying to do too many things. Keep it simple.

LR in your sump is nothing but a detritus trap. It needs to be clean lik everything else to work properly.

 

Then don't do it... let us know your results.

 

I also don't do water changes on my 90G mixed reef. Last water change was probably 3 months ago. It has a 55G fuge with about 40lbs of live rock and grape gracilaria growing everywhere.

No fish die off in past 6 months 10+ fish
mixed reef doing great LPS's, SPS's, softies, etc
Nitrates never over 10ppm
and no algies anywhere