Detritus in the sump- Nitrates/Phosphates

[tunicata]

Hey folks,

So, the sump does not get as much flow as my DT.

I see a lot of gross detritus down there that I can't really get out:

- in the intake section- I do have a filter sock but do not religiously change it out and there is detritus on the floor of the return section, hanging out on the skimmer pump...

- in the fuge section! When I stir up my chaeto, pods and caulerpa the detritus makes itself known. pretty gross.

- In the return, it collects just before the pump/all around it.

I have tried to siphon this out on occasion (except for the fuge since I dont want to disturb the critters) but the gravity fed siphon option just does not work since i'm so low to the ground.


Some tank details:

• 120 g DT
  • 30g breeder? sump
  • Reef Octopus 150
  • Over 120lbs of LR
  • fuge with 3 types of macro and sand
  • 13 or so fish 3 are large, rest are 3" and under
  • DSB -only 7m old
  • hanna phos meter- .39 as of 10 days ago, will check again Friday
  • Nitr- via marcel easy read tabs- RED and when I did use my salifert kit, i think it was at 50ppm
  • I am using RODI water- havent used a TDS meter or done a phos check on the water will do that Friday to compare-also just ordered a new DI filter for it.

What do you do to clean your sump?
Should I even bother siphoning it?
Is this detritus a significant factor in water quality?



I haven't been overfeeding as much as I did before,
I am beginning to do 15g water changes once a week
I started on a vodka dosing regimen AFTER talking with quite a few long time reefers, reading tons of sites, I do understand how it works/why it works, and the consequences, I researched the other options as well (vinegar, sugar, etc).
Oh, I also turned off my dual reactor with gfo/carbon for the past month due to the impeller on my mj1200 breaking, but now I just received my package and will reinstall at least the carbon.

 

[KathyC]

Every couple of months I turn off my pumps and use a turkey baster to draw the detritus out of the sump. I also can't get a siphon going due to how low the sump is.

A minijet (404 or a 606) attached to the side wall of the sump and slightly above the bottom will help to keep that stuff suspended to it hopefully gets picked up by your skimmer.

,,and yes it will affect your water quality.

If you turn off your pumps weekly when you do your water changes, you might want to do the turkey baster thing then

 

[tunicata]

Cool, thanks Kathy!
I will buy a turkey baster. I may have a small pump I'm not using....
Hopefully, if I can export as much of the detritus as possible my readings will be a lot better in a month or so.

I want my corals to be happy

 

[peteyboyny]

Every couple of months I turn off my pumps and use a turkey baster to draw the detritus out of the sump. I also can't get a siphon going due to how low the sump is.

A minijet (404 or a 606) attached to the side wall of the sump and slightly above the bottom will help to keep that stuff suspended to it hopefully gets picked up by your skimmer.

,,and yes it will affect your water quality.

If you turn off your pumps weekly when you do your water changes, you might want to do the turkey baster thing then

+1. I had the same problem. Not anymore.

 

[jackson6745]

Your phosphates are extremely high, and nitrates are very high. All the gross detritus you are describing is a result of your poor water quality and your filtrations inability to export wastes.

If it was my tank I would upgrade skimmers to a SRO 2000 or larger. I would perform several large water changes to get waste level down while siphoning out as much of the DSB as possible (IMO a DSB is a bomb given your nutrient level). I would also change GFO and carbon more frequently. I wouldn't rely on a carbon source since your levels are in a high extreme from being in a safe range. IMO save that for later on when nutrients creep up a little.

I'm sure there are many ways to fix your problem. This would be my method. Quick long-term fix boom done

 

[empire]

get a bucket head from home depot! you have to get in the habit of changing out your filter sock more often..i usually try to change it out every few days.

 

[afernandez]

Like you I also use filter socks and I still get stuff down in my sump...

I whent to bj's and got my self a shop vac for 40$. Now every month or so I take everything out the sump and shop vac the entire sump during my water change . (Check Home Depot I was there Friday I think they have some on sale)

Changing socks every 3-4 days helps alot.

I would also consider Jackson's advise .

 

[tunicata]

--What is a bucket head? --

So, the levels are pretty high considering phos are preferred to be .03 or less and nitrates 10ppm or less.

I remember just a few months ago when my phos readings were at .03 and nitrates were between 2/5 on the salifert kits.

Then I started heavy feeding with my frozen mysis and not increasing general tank care.

But I'm optimistic.

I've been reading a lot of different things, but prefer Melev's sites because those are the sites I began reading when I started in the hobby.

Here's Melev's link to show how his tank waivered for months/years with like max of 75ppm nitrates and 2 ppm phosphates.
http://www.melevsreef.com/parms.html

So, my easiest plan of action will include:

• 2 small feedings a day (I was overfeeding for a while)
• Clean out detritus in sump- I'm pretty sure that is a HUGE culprit as I don't spend a lot of time maintaining that as I should.
• Try to remove the Sand bed in my sump
• Buy extra filter socks AND ACTUALLY CHANGE THEM OUT
• Buy more pods to replace the pop. I'll loose by taking out the DSB from the sump
• After I test to see if my RODI is doing a good job or not, I'll continue to do water changes/buy a new RODI
• and

of course, do more routine care.




Anyway, the tank looks good. Even with these parameters, their is no nuisance algae on the rocks, or on the glass (perhaps my CUC takes care of that?), my fish are fine, corals are all growing well (yes, my stony coral died about a month ago but that was due to my inaccurate dosing).

I will add my chem readings to my tank thread twice a week...I think I have 26 reagents left on my hanna meter.

 

[tunicata]

--Is the shop vac good for saltwater use-corroded parts?

 

[empire]

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...p=BazVoice-_-RLP-_-202017218-_-x#.USJauKU4uSo

just take out the filter when you use it..

why take out the sand bed? what kind of sand are you using in there? do you have pictures of your sump?

 

[afernandez]

If u use a shop vac You would use it to suck water out. It's not going to be used regularly

U can always rinse it with tap water after use . But it's not going to in your system.

 

[empire]

you might as well just use a bucket head. it's cheap and effective. the only drawback i noticed is the how often you are going to have to dump out your bucket.

 

[afernandez]

you might as well just use a bucket head. it's cheap and effective.

Yup.. I wish I knew about this cheaper option lol

 

[empire]

might as well just use a bucket head, cheap and effective. only draw back is how often you have to dump your bucket out, but for $22 you really can't complain. i change my filter sock out every 2-3 days. i don't see why you need to get rid of your DSB or your fuge as long as you change out your filter socks and vacuum/siphon out your sump!

 

[empire]

oops double post sorry! yeah i found out about the bucket head post sandy. it's sooo worth it! a definite must have for every reefer!

 

[rwells]

Had the same problem here for quite sometime until I decided to start using filter socks. I haven't clean my sump for the past 3 months and no detritus is sump.

 

[edd]

i would get a small internal- external utility pump, put the external adapter on, put hose on both sides and suck it out. you may have to start a syphon i think. you can control it by blocking discharge with your finger. it sounds like shop vac might suck too fast, i really don't know as i never tried it.

 

[tunicata]

Whew, nice amount of replies.
Thanks for the thoughtfulness folks!


Re: DSB-
The DSB in the sump is much older than the tank/system itself. I reused it from a more established tank (1yr old) in the hopes of seeding it with goodness.

I've since put a fresh layer on top of the 1 yr old layer, and also added some reef mud.
So, I've technically, already refreshed the DSB, but wouldn't mind redoing it.

To save money, I'll use a turkey baster and a small maxijet I have to siphon out the detritus.

I may do a bulk order of filter socks so I always have some on hand.

Whew, if you folks are changing those things out every 2-3 days then I'm waaaaay behind.

 

[tunicata]

ooooh,
that's totally cool.
I just looked at the bucket head thing.
That would be great for heavy cleaning of the sump and the dt!!!

21$ is not bad...

Thanks for the info!

 

[Mike S]

I hook some tubing to a powerhead and use the intake to vacuum the bottom of my sump. I discharge the water into a filter sock.