Refugium collapsed

So I came home and tank was cloudy. My sump has 3 sections. The left side is a Fuge and has one baffle. I guess the baffle failed and sand came rushing into the return chamber. What a nightmare. What is the best course of action. The fuge is ruined. Sand is everywhere.

 

turn off your return pump now.. this can be fixed.. let me think a minute what I would do.. Im sure more will chime in

 

I have been looking at it and trying to figure it out. I think I am gonna have to drain the sump and get as much sand out as I possibly can. Then rip out this baffle and run without the fuge for awhile till I can really figure out what I am gonna do

 

Sounds like a good idea - get the tank/sump running agian without the sand in the sump.

 

to remove the sediment cloud that hazes out the tank cut a filter out of pressed 2 in thick polyester seat cushion....made by Polyfil...same comp that makes filters...same exact material just cheaper and thicker and easy to find at walmart...slip in between return pump and main sump, will clear water in a few hours....i leave one in my sump that spans the entire gap so that all water has to pass through it before it goes back to the tank.....works great and takes out more waste than my skimmer can in a given amount of time....everyone should try if you have room to slip it in. It comes in thicknesses from 1 in all the way up to 4 inch depending on how much room you have...

 

One big concern here would be the fact that the deep sand bed layer has been compromised.

How deep was the sand bed?

 

That is probably what i would do.

I would probably vacuum it out with my $3,000 vacuum that uses water so it sucks up water and dirt awesome. Rainbow! My wife just had to get it... I have to admit the thing is sweet.

Anyways- i would make sure to clean out your return pump really well too Depending on how your sump is, you might think about just putting in a new baffle before you go ahead and put more water in it. Its gonna be a pain in the... to empty it again.

Worse things could of happened IMO

 

I'm gonna try that... if it screws anything up im coming to find you tho!

jk

 

Dude that just plain out sucks. Sorry to hear about it.
I would get a rubbermaid container and use for a temporary sump until you can get yours repaired. they are pretty cheap at wal-mart.

 

yea.... hell my sump is 2 rubbermaids that i screwed and siliconed together and made an overflow in the middle. works great.

It cost $4. plus 3 for the silicone....

I think there are pics of it on my build thread.... just so you know, baffles are nearly impossible if you decided to go that route