removing fuge?

[juiceguy]

i been thinking about removing my fuge section in my sump, i know some ppl on here have tried it and noticed lowered nutrient levels but i am concerned about long term effects....will the sand bed in the tank now store those nutrients that were once stored in the fuge? also was there any "shock" to the system by removing the fuge? any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[loismustdie]

Hey frank.
If you were to leave the sand bed, you would then have a remote DSB. I would consider putting around a 6 to 8 inch bed. Some extra flow to keep detritus from settling on the sand. The bed doesn't exactly store nutrients so much as it is a continuation of biological filtration further breaking down NO3 to nitrogen gas which then dissipates from the system. Many who don't like DSB techniques use the argument that the bacterias eventually crash within the bed. I always replenished my sand beds every year. No issues. More and more people are leaning towards remote DSB's. You would be a good person to let us know how it does for you.
You can always keep some LR and algae in there. The key is good flow to keep detritus from settling in there. Most fuges people removed were just very messy and the removal of all that waste would be the biggest factor in the lowered nutrients, not the removal of the cheato.
The biggest shock you will see is a very fast drop in PO4. If you are leaving the sand bed, I doubt you will see any changes in NO3 some people experienced when they removed their fuges. If nothing else, you will probably see that drop as well.

 

[NYreefNoob]

i use a remote dsb myself, have a 10g tank with about 6-8" deep with some lr and cheato in it as well as snails and hermit's. since switching tanks out and going bb on main i am much more happy with over all effect, tank looks great, no sand storms and still have the benifits of sandbed. other than cant have certain fish

 

[OctaviousMonk]

I have both a DSB in the main display and fuge and love it. I am happy with my readings across the board. I was thining of removing the dsb in the display on my upgrade but changed my mind.

 

[juiceguy]

I know ideally a remote tank with a DSB would be ideal and in my next set-up i will factor it in but in my current tank it is a no-go. I currently have 4-5 inches of sand in the main display. my readings are ideal, 0 nitrate according to salifert and phos is .01 by the hanna meter but there is always cyano in the fuge so nutrients are present. My thinking is remove the eco-mud in the fuge and just have some LR rubble with chaeto BB and re-positioning the skimmer to receive more direct water from the drain.

 

[loismustdie]

Cyano in a fuge is very common. In areas of low flow, odds are you will have some cyano. Your levels are fine though. It isn't broke, so don't fix it.
I was under the assumption that you were having nutrient issues. It's impossible and actually undesirable to go lower than you are. I'd go so far to say that my tank looked better when PO4 was between 0.02 and 0.05 on a Hanna.
As for the skimmer, go with what the manufacturer recommends. I don't know what the current status is with yours, so I can't comment.

 

[jasonperez]

i also had a dsb and went bb. i noticed a bloom in alge and a lost in a few corals do to the lack in nutriants!! i am going to add a refuge back to my system, but when i do ill have a smaller 10g or 20g with a slower flow of water, i had to much water going throw the last refuge. i here that it better to beable to change the sand every few month!! so the sb staeys fresh and it will collect al the bad bactirias that could be harmful to the tank ooohh i think my friend said no more then 60gph for every square foot of water!!!