Sump... Any pro's wanna crack at this!

Hello all,
I posted a thread earlier about what to place in a sump and how do you know when it has kicked in, and also how long till it kicks in? Right now all my perms are really good and i just set it up about two weeks ago. I placed a live pacific sand 5 inches deep and two softball sized balls of cheato. I also ordered 5 mangroves that will be here tomorrow. Thanks for your infinite wisdom everyone!

 

Are you asking how long it takes for the sump to have a postitve effect on the tank?

It will have an instant benefit. More water volume is always a benefit IMO. The Chateo and mangroves might take a week or two to start growing and make an impact on H20 quality. What kind of light do you have for the chateo and mangroves? What are the nitrate and phosfate levels in your system?

 

Yes. I wanted to know how long until it preforms to par. Its seems to be working well but I have read a lotta threads and they speak of "when the fuge kicks in youll notice a huge difference in the tank and how well everything is growing. I have a CF 29 watt over mangroves and cheato and nitrate nitrite are zero. Phos im not sure of but I can go buy a test kit for that. Salinity is at 1.025, calcium is at 465, mag is 1350,ammonia is zero as well. thanks for reply!

 

Bump

 

The threads that speak of "when this kicks in you'll notice it when. . . .." are speaking of established tank scenarios where undesireable perams are already high. In these situations it's sometimes a marked difference in algal growth (declining growth) so it's noticeable.

Whether or not you'll see a difference depends on the levels of nitrates and phosphates present when you put the sump into service, and whether or not you have strong undesireable algal growth.

As for how long it takes, it all depends upon what you're running. You'd see a faster decline in phos. if you ran phosphate removing media in a reactor, than you would if you're using macro algae like chaeto, or other plant means like mangroves.

Sit tight and watch it happen. No two scenarios are the same. You'll know it's working when your water quality improves. Remember the creedo--nothing good happens fast. This hobby has quite the patience zen to it. If you're not the patient type (like me), you'll eventually develop it--like it or not.

 

Is your chaeto growing? You will begin to get nice amphopods and copepods multiplying, crawling on the glass of your sump, all good indicators. Like Sparky said, this all takes time, but it begins immediately. Is your return pump IN the sump? I started stacking some extra Live Rock around the pump. Not too much it reduces volume of that chamber. I also added some Macro algae to the chaeto ball. Grape algae is nice and some caulerpa grows well and have the same benefits as chaeto, but herbivores will eat enthusiastically the grape algae. I have "Miracle Mud" in my sump with salt marsh grass growing in it. I find sumps as fascinating as the reef tanks.

 

I couldnt agree More!!Yes I have a three stage sump setup right now 1)Is where the duel overflow and the protein skimmer( corallife 250) is located2) is my fuge (it has 6 mangrove shoots,a deep sand bed 5 inch, and cheato) in threre the cheato is not growing very fast at all. I have had it two weeks and looks the same.Also i have noticed about 20 pods down there.I have a 29 CF light on 24\7. And the third chamber past the 4 air baffels is the return pump also my chiller pump is located in there as well. I am open for any advice to kick it up a notch and that for all the great wisdom so far. I will buy some grape algae tomorrow .