Question about sump

[Joe Cool]

I was thinking of adding 5 lbs of live rock, some macro algae and a
light to my sump. I plan on taking the bios balls out slowly over the
next month, does anyone see a issue with this. The persoon at the LFS
said I am better off leaving my wet / dry the way it is.

[Billy]

"Joe Cool" > wrote in message
...
|I was thinking of adding 5 lbs of live rock, some macro algae and a
| light to my sump. I plan on taking the bios balls out slowly over
the
| next month, does anyone see a issue with this. The persoon at the
LFS
| said I am better off leaving my wet / dry the way it is.

How large is the display tank? Do you have sufficient live rock in
the display tank to support the system? If not, he's right.

Do you have any high nitrate or serious nuisance algae issues? If
not, he's right.

If you answered yes to those, then this may be a good move, and it
sounds like you have the right idea about taking it slow.

[Rich R]

so just puting liverock in a sump is ok or is live sand better? Any Ideas or
links to a small light that works good in the sump?

--


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"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Joe Cool" > wrote in message
> ...
> |I was thinking of adding 5 lbs of live rock, some macro algae and a
> | light to my sump. I plan on taking the bios balls out slowly over
> the
> | next month, does anyone see a issue with this. The persoon at the
> LFS
> | said I am better off leaving my wet / dry the way it is.
>
> How large is the display tank? Do you have sufficient live rock in
> the display tank to support the system? If not, he's right.
>
> Do you have any high nitrate or serious nuisance algae issues? If
> not, he's right.
>
> If you answered yes to those, then this may be a good move, and it
> sounds like you have the right idea about taking it slow.
>
>
>

[Joe Cool]

Billy wrote:
> "Joe Cool" > wrote in message
> ...
> |I was thinking of adding 5 lbs of live rock, some macro algae and a
> | light to my sump. I plan on taking the bios balls out slowly over
> the
> | next month, does anyone see a issue with this. The persoon at the
> LFS
> | said I am better off leaving my wet / dry the way it is.
>
> How large is the display tank? Do you have sufficient live rock in
> the display tank to support the system? If not, he's right.
>
> Do you have any high nitrate or serious nuisance algae issues? If
> not, he's right.
>
> If you answered yes to those, then this may be a good move, and it
> sounds like you have the right idea about taking it slow.
>
>
My tank is 44 gals, I have 38 lbs of live rock in the display tank. I am
having a problem with brown slim algae. My sump is speced upto a 75 gal
tank.

[Billy]

"Joe Cool" > wrote in message
...
| >
| >
| My tank is 44 gals, I have 38 lbs of live rock in the display tank.
I am
| having a problem with brown slim algae. My sump is speced upto a 75
gal
| tank.

Then, in your case, I would disagree with the LFS guy. Provided you
do not have an extreme bio-load, removal of the bio-balls may help.
What's going on is this: the bio balls do not harbor the bacteria
that turns nitrate into nitrogen gas (which evaporates). Live rock
does. Inside the liverock, the newly created nitrates are already
right there where the bacteria live. A much lower level of nitrates
become free in your water column for the algaes to feed on.

There is\was a fabulous thread on bio-balls at reefcentral. Much of
it is over my head, advanced chemestry stuff, but I got the basics.
Can't find it now, dammit. The summary was, if you have a nitrate
problem, removal of bioballs or other static media may help. If your
tank is fine, leave em be. <g>


Remove the balls slowly, perhaps in 10-15% increments weekly. Test
water before each removal. If anything looks out of spec, cancel the
removal.
The addition of the macro in the sump is a fabulous idea. Some
caulerpa, a hunk of LR for it to adhere to, and a light bulb, and
you've got yourself an ecosystem. <g>