lanman May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 Do rocks in the sump, without any lights on them, contribute to the de-nitrification process the same as the rocks in the display tank? Less? None? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 Do rocks in the sump, without any lights on them, contribute to the de-nitrification process the same as the rocks in the display tank? Less? None? bob Yes, same and also provide refuge for pods and critters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JasonD May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 Being a microbiologist, we always grow our bugs in the dark. I imagine the bacteria in a dark sump are probably happier than the ones under bright light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller7 May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 Do rocks in the sump, without any lights on them, contribute to the de-nitrification process the same as the rocks in the display tank? Less? None? bob IME: They certainly make it tougher to remove detritus which settles out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardofNOVA May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 I use to like alot of LR in my sump, especially pieces for frags later, but now that I have a FRAG Tank, I really don't use the sump but for turnover and a detritus catch all! Easier to keep the tank cleaner too! Do my water changes directly from there and get's the worst out faster and keeps items out of the main part of the tank as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 May 11, 2007 Share May 11, 2007 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman May 12, 2007 Author Share May 12, 2007 No. No as in no value added? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 May 12, 2007 Share May 12, 2007 No as in no value added? bob Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal May 12, 2007 Share May 12, 2007 And why do you say that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 May 12, 2007 Share May 12, 2007 And why do you say that? A modern reef tank is going to have way more than enough living rock in the display to carry out the denitrification process. Doing it for pod growth or another reason may be valid but doing it to simply turn ammonia to nitrite to nitrates is not needed. Actually a wet dry with bio balls will do that a whole lot quicker than rocks in the sump. Unfortunately the bacteria that consume nitrate don't do so well when exposed to oxygen (thus the popularity of anaerobic zones) so the net result is more nitrates. Since we try really hard to add oxygen to the water as the water goes from tank to sump to skimmer back to tank it really doesn't make since to think that enviroment would be a good one for anaerobic bacteria to thrive. Instead you will provide a settling spot for nitrates with no bacteria to consume them. The sump is your filter system, filter systems should be clean. Rock gets in the way of cleaning. Why do you think you need more denitrification? Are you having an ammonia or nitrite spike? High nitrates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman May 12, 2007 Author Share May 12, 2007 A modern reef tank is going to have way more than enough living rock in the display to carry out the denitrification process. Doing it for pod growth or another reason may be valid but doing it to simply turn ammonia to nitrite to nitrates is not needed. Actually a wet dry with bio balls will do that a whole lot quicker than rocks in the sump. Unfortunately the bacteria that consume nitrate don't do so well when exposed to oxygen (thus the popularity of anaerobic zones) so the net result is more nitrates. Since we try really hard to add oxygen to the water as the water goes from tank to sump to skimmer back to tank it really doesn't make since to think that enviroment would be a good one for anaerobic bacteria to thrive. Instead you will provide a settling spot for nitrates with no bacteria to consume them. The sump is your filter system, filter systems should be clean. Rock gets in the way of cleaning. Why do you think you need more denitrification? Are you having an ammonia or nitrite spike? High nitrates? No problems at all so far; I just ended up with a bunch of rock in my sump after the tank move. As I work on my aquascaping some of it may get back into the main tank. But while looking the situation over, I wondered if one could build a system with very little rock in the display - and most of it in the sump, and still accomplish the job of maintaining your water. Of course now you have me wondering if I shouldn't find something else to do with that rock. i.e. - it may have a negative impact on my water quality. Or perhaps I should put a light over it. Right now I'd estimate my 58-gallon display has about 70 pounds of rocks in it. And about 40 pounds in the sump. The frag tank and the refugium/sump are still connected to the 45-gallon system. I hope to empty that tank tomorrow, at which time I'll have the frag tank and sump/refugium as a separate system, until I get it plumbed into the new one as a frag tank and refugium. I'm going to make some changes to those as well; in particular I don't think I want caulerpa in my refugium anymore. I keep reading how toxic it CAN be. And there are plenty of other macro-algae that are not. So it was just a hypothetical question until you said it might be a BAD thing. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lletellier May 13, 2007 Share May 13, 2007 very interested on this since i've seen several people with rocks in their sump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDBDRZ May 13, 2007 Share May 13, 2007 I keep a lot of LR in my sump, I see no negative effects from it. Is it necessary, probably not, does it hurt to have LR in your sump, probably not. My sump is a 100g stock tank, every once in a while I will take the skimmer and all the LR out, drain it and clean the detritus. Having a very large sump is probably much more beneficial than what you actually have in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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