What do you put in your sumps?

Kezhodge · 06/21/2018, 03:14 PM

Just built a sump w refugium. I'm going to set it up when my overflow gets here. What does everyone put in their sumps. I'm thinking some live rock on a bare bottom with some cheato. Thoughts? I have fairly deep sand in the display.

lpsouth1978 · 06/21/2018, 03:23 PM

Live rock tends to act as a trap for debris in a sump and makes it difficult to clean it out. I am just using the fuge for growing cheato. If you are planning on a complete fuge /holding area for corals or troublesome fish, then you can go ahead and put some LR or rubble in there. There realy is no one correct answer.

Pslreefer · 06/21/2018, 03:26 PM

I use liverock and sand in mine with a cuc to keep it clean down there.

thegrun · 06/21/2018, 03:27 PM

I do keep both live rock (bigger pieces so I get some denitrification) and chaeto in my refugium. I run filter socks so it takes a long time before I see much detritus. I've gone year periods without socks and when I did so I did need to clean out the sump every 9-12 months.

mcgyvr · 06/21/2018, 03:43 PM

Detritus settling is not the monster that people make it out to be...Ive been letting it accumulate to 1/2" or more in my sump (so far) and nutrient levels in my tank are not a problem..
Pods love it too...
The benefit from the additional surface area of the rock outweighs any cons besides just visually seeing the detritus...when you look at it as basically inert mud you stop caring to vacuum it out

AlSimmons · 06/21/2018, 03:56 PM

My sump/s are just a place to hide my equipment, nothing more. No baffles, no refugium. Just a return pump, a heater, a skimmer and an ATO. I do have a softball size piece of rock down there for the micro fauna to live in, but that's about it. It's real easy to keep clean and it's simple.

billdogg · 06/21/2018, 04:15 PM

In addition to the heaters/skimmer/etc, all I have is some leftover LR chunks in the refugium area. I don't bother to clean out the sludge on the bottom either, and no filter sock for me. Once or twice a year I'll remove the rock to swish it around in a bucket of old water, and I'll clean up the sludge then if there's enough to bother with.

davocean · 06/21/2018, 04:40 PM

I do just LR and chaeto, maybe once a year or so I may use my buckethead and vac it out, but I don't put much thought or concern in that really.

reefling · 06/21/2018, 09:57 PM

I have rubble and chaeto in mine.

My best results came with 7" of sand and some macro on top of it.

When I did sand my nitrates were always zero. Now they are 20ppm. My phosphate is pretty much zero, so algae growth is minimal.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

JTL · 06/22/2018, 07:10 AM

I have been messing with different variations to my sump. I like to keep things very clean so there is no detritus in my sump. I only use a filter sock when doing the weekly cleaning of my DT. My refugium is fed by my return pump and has a little chaeto that is not growing and some golf ball sized pieces of LR. I keep my LR in an enclosure made of egg crate so I can shake out the pods which are then circulated to the DT to feed my mandarin. I am going to make a frag rack in the refugium and light it with an SB Reeflight that I had laying around.

Joe0813 · 06/22/2018, 07:13 AM

I have all my equipment in there. My fuge has live rock rubble, some bigger pieces, inch of sand and cheato

homer1475 · 06/22/2018, 07:21 AM

All my equipment is in my sump. Along with a turf scrubber, dosing lines, and a small bit of rock rubble I ad left over.

The rubble makes a great place for pods to breed.

Conchman · 06/23/2018, 06:14 PM

Skimmer, heater, return pump, fuge with sand, about 3”, little bit of rubble for frags, few frag plugs (more of a toss place, figure I may need some day).

06/21/2018, 03:23 PM	#2
lpsouth1978 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 915	Live rock tends to act as a trap for debris in a sump and makes it difficult to clean it out. I am just using the fuge for growing cheato. If you are planning on a complete fuge /holding area for corals or troublesome fish, then you can go ahead and put some LR or rubble in there. There realy is no one correct answer. __________________ Current tank: 40B work in progress w/20L sump

06/21/2018, 03:43 PM	#5
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Detritus settling is not the monster that people make it out to be...Ive been letting it accumulate to 1/2" or more in my sump (so far) and nutrient levels in my tank are not a problem.. Pods love it too... The benefit from the additional surface area of the rock outweighs any cons besides just visually seeing the detritus...when you look at it as basically inert mud you stop caring to vacuum it out __________________ Who me?

06/21/2018, 03:56 PM	#6
AlSimmons Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: California Posts: 2,482	My sump/s are just a place to hide my equipment, nothing more. No baffles, no refugium. Just a return pump, a heater, a skimmer and an ATO. I do have a softball size piece of rock down there for the micro fauna to live in, but that's about it. It's real easy to keep clean and it's simple. Last edited by AlSimmons; 06/21/2018 at 04:06 PM.

06/21/2018, 04:15 PM	#7
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	In addition to the heaters/skimmer/etc, all I have is some leftover LR chunks in the refugium area. I don't bother to clean out the sludge on the bottom either, and no filter sock for me. Once or twice a year I'll remove the rock to swish it around in a bucket of old water, and I'll clean up the sludge then if there's enough to bother with. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

06/21/2018, 04:40 PM	#8
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	I do just LR and chaeto, maybe once a year or so I may use my buckethead and vac it out, but I don't put much thought or concern in that really. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

06/21/2018, 03:26 PM	#3
Pslreefer In Memoriam Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Port St Lucie, FL Posts: 597	I use liverock and sand in mine with a cuc to keep it clean down there.

06/21/2018, 03:27 PM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I do keep both live rock (bigger pieces so I get some denitrification) and chaeto in my refugium. I run filter socks so it takes a long time before I see much detritus. I've gone year periods without socks and when I did so I did need to clean out the sump every 9-12 months.

06/21/2018, 09:57 PM	#9
reefling Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 153	I have rubble and chaeto in mine. My best results came with 7" of sand and some macro on top of it. When I did sand my nitrates were always zero. Now they are 20ppm. My phosphate is pretty much zero, so algae growth is minimal. Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

06/22/2018, 07:10 AM	#10
JTL Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Venice Island, FL Posts: 2,532	I have been messing with different variations to my sump. I like to keep things very clean so there is no detritus in my sump. I only use a filter sock when doing the weekly cleaning of my DT. My refugium is fed by my return pump and has a little chaeto that is not growing and some golf ball sized pieces of LR. I keep my LR in an enclosure made of egg crate so I can shake out the pods which are then circulated to the DT to feed my mandarin. I am going to make a frag rack in the refugium and light it with an SB Reeflight that I had laying around. __________________ John 100 gallon DT and 50 gallon sump with refugium. Reefbreeders Photon V2+.

06/22/2018, 07:13 AM	#11
Joe0813 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Boston strong Posts: 2,766	I have all my equipment in there. My fuge has live rock rubble, some bigger pieces, inch of sand and cheato __________________ Joe and Jenny Current Tank Info: 180 reef

06/22/2018, 07:21 AM	#12
homer1475 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 5,313	All my equipment is in my sump. Along with a turf scrubber, dosing lines, and a small bit of rock rubble I ad left over. The rubble makes a great place for pods to breed. __________________ 80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work"

06/23/2018, 06:14 PM	#13
Conchman Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 56	Skimmer, heater, return pump, fuge with sand, about 3”, little bit of rubble for frags, few frag plugs (more of a toss place, figure I may need some day).