Sump Filtration...how much is enough....

Dudes.....I have a 30 G sump with Chateo growing and I have the Plastic molded sump with the 3 drawer filtration system with crushed coral in erach tray along with some sand. Is this enough filtration or do I need to add more to achieve success. Would Live Rock help? and if so is there a formula for how much?

Ride the big one.....

 

So what type of tank do you have, and how much live rock do you have in it? The answer sort of depends on that. What sucess are you trying to achieve?

To sort of answer your question, no... there is no "formula".

Filtration is a all encompassing term, but ther are specifics. Mechanical, chemical, and biological. Live rock and the sand and rubble you have in your "filter" are biological. It is just a surface for bacteria to colonize. Regardless of what you provide, bateria will colonize anything and as many will grow as there is nutrients to feed them.

 

for a reef tank you wand "around" 2 lbs or LR per gallon of water. If you do this The LR will be all the filtration you need for a good reef. The macro algea is awesome aswell!. As for the tray system with rubble, I dont think this is a good idea. Seems like a nitrate factory if the rubble is not completly submerged in water.

 

Lots of LR full Refugium and good skimmer are all peices that make up "good" filtration.

 

My Fuge is split into two sections. The water dump is on the far left end where this section is isolated by a wall. In this section I have placed 2 Seachum's Purigen Bags to help absorb Nitrates. This overflows into the central section where I keep the Macro Algae from a local fellow reefer dude. In the far right section I have my return Pump. Does this sound like an OK set up? Or am I missing something?

 

Ya your "sump" is set up like alot of other peoples sumps, where the refugium is in the middle section. You want low water flow threw the refugium so its not always the best place for it but it does the job.
If you dont overfeed your fish and have enough macros you shoudnt need the bags of media in the return section of your sump, but it prob doesnt hurt either.
I would recommend getting a skimmer. You will be suprized on what it takes out of the water.

 

Dasco, funny you should mention that dude....I ordered an ASM Skimmer today along with the Spectrapure RO/DI System. Which section will the skimmer need to be placed in?

Yeeeee HAAAAAA

 

Surferdude, should't you have blonde hair?

 

with your setup you can place it on either side just not the middle. lol.

 

The "ideal" place for the skimmer IMO would be where your macro algae is and a seperate "Fuge" with low flow like Dasco said. If I can figure out how to put a pic on here I could show you my setup. What size is ur tank?