Hi,
I’ve got one of those “impatient rooky mistakes” catching up on me now. You see, I bought a new tank from Rick a couple of months ago (almost a year ago). It’s a 2m aquaria tank – which was an awesome deal from Rick. (Thanks dude).
The problem part, is that I was soooo impatient to get the tank in place and up and running that I didn’t plan a 100% on my filtration for the tank. And now with more bio-load I’ve started to get the dreaded hairy algae all over the back glass and on some of my rocks.
I know that my sump is way undersize for this size tank. The problem is, is that I can’t take out the existing sump – you can only insert it from the back of the tank, and the tank is standing against the wall. And to insert an additional sump in under the cabinet, will also be impossible.
My sump currently consists of:
1’st chamber – TS2 skimmer, Orca Bio cubes, Carbon and Phosphate remover.
2’nd chamber – some LR rubble, and a filter floss. But this is VERY narrow – about +- 4 cm..
3’rd chamber – 2 return pumps.
My readings for phosphates and nitrates are both 0. Which is possible, because all of the algae within the tank is using it.. So I just want to get a “competitor” in that will use the Nitrates and Phosphates.
My options that I can come up with to get this sorted:
1. Get a lot of extra Orca cubes in. Currently have about 500ml in. This will be the easiest solution. BUT I’m not sure if it will work a 100%. If I go this option – how much extra will I have to get?
With this option, I will have to replace BIO cubes monthly – adding to the cost factor. But it might not be that much – seeing how long my current BIO cubes lasts.
2. The second option is to build two horizontal algae scrubbers, which will be positioned on top of my tank. It will be above my LED lights. Will use two of those meat buckets that you see and butcheries. They’re wide enough and long enough to give me a decent nice.
This exercise will be slightly more expensive to start with. Need to buy the containers, 4 LED spot lights and will have to build a frame on which I can rest the two containers on. Running cost will be the extra electricity used by the spot lights, but that’s so small.
The other downside here, is the extra maintenance that must be done weekly to clean the scrubbers.
But the other positive on this option, is that the scrubbers are ontop of the tank – and meaning extra food (pods) will fall into the tank.
And the extra oxygen is also a plus…
3. The third option is to drill a hole in the wall from the outside and setup a big sump there. This will be the most expensive option. I will have to get a wendy house or something to house the sump, and to build the bigger sump will be a bit more costly. The running cost on this option will be more, as I will need more heaters etc. But the possibilities in doing this, is just so much more.
With a bigger sump I can add a DSB, an algae scrubber that’s hidden from view, the noise from the pumps will be reduced (it’s outside so wont bother me that much anymore).
I’ll take some photos later which will show how the current setup looks like.
That’s my three options that I can think of. Any other possibilities/options/ideas are welcome.
I’ve got one of those “impatient rooky mistakes” catching up on me now. You see, I bought a new tank from Rick a couple of months ago (almost a year ago). It’s a 2m aquaria tank – which was an awesome deal from Rick. (Thanks dude).
The problem part, is that I was soooo impatient to get the tank in place and up and running that I didn’t plan a 100% on my filtration for the tank. And now with more bio-load I’ve started to get the dreaded hairy algae all over the back glass and on some of my rocks.
I know that my sump is way undersize for this size tank. The problem is, is that I can’t take out the existing sump – you can only insert it from the back of the tank, and the tank is standing against the wall. And to insert an additional sump in under the cabinet, will also be impossible.
My sump currently consists of:
1’st chamber – TS2 skimmer, Orca Bio cubes, Carbon and Phosphate remover.
2’nd chamber – some LR rubble, and a filter floss. But this is VERY narrow – about +- 4 cm..
3’rd chamber – 2 return pumps.
My readings for phosphates and nitrates are both 0. Which is possible, because all of the algae within the tank is using it.. So I just want to get a “competitor” in that will use the Nitrates and Phosphates.
My options that I can come up with to get this sorted:
1. Get a lot of extra Orca cubes in. Currently have about 500ml in. This will be the easiest solution. BUT I’m not sure if it will work a 100%. If I go this option – how much extra will I have to get?
With this option, I will have to replace BIO cubes monthly – adding to the cost factor. But it might not be that much – seeing how long my current BIO cubes lasts.
2. The second option is to build two horizontal algae scrubbers, which will be positioned on top of my tank. It will be above my LED lights. Will use two of those meat buckets that you see and butcheries. They’re wide enough and long enough to give me a decent nice.
This exercise will be slightly more expensive to start with. Need to buy the containers, 4 LED spot lights and will have to build a frame on which I can rest the two containers on. Running cost will be the extra electricity used by the spot lights, but that’s so small.
The other downside here, is the extra maintenance that must be done weekly to clean the scrubbers.
But the other positive on this option, is that the scrubbers are ontop of the tank – and meaning extra food (pods) will fall into the tank.
And the extra oxygen is also a plus…
3. The third option is to drill a hole in the wall from the outside and setup a big sump there. This will be the most expensive option. I will have to get a wendy house or something to house the sump, and to build the bigger sump will be a bit more costly. The running cost on this option will be more, as I will need more heaters etc. But the possibilities in doing this, is just so much more.
With a bigger sump I can add a DSB, an algae scrubber that’s hidden from view, the noise from the pumps will be reduced (it’s outside so wont bother me that much anymore).
I’ll take some photos later which will show how the current setup looks like.
That’s my three options that I can think of. Any other possibilities/options/ideas are welcome.
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