Adding new 200 Gallon Sump in Basement

[thardin]

I have a few questions for those who care to help a fellow reefer. Any comments would be appreciated.

I am adding a new sump to my 135. I have the sump & refugium (100 gallons each)in the basement. I am in the process of building a new stand for my tank in a new location (directly over the sumps in the basement). The refugium has an 8" bed of southdown sand and I plan on seeding with another 100# of live sand over it, The sump also has 8" of Southdown over about 2/3 of the sump (baffle). I plan to grow Macro's or Mangroves for nutrient export in the refugium. Sump will be for additional rock & sand filtration as well as housing any undesirables (suspect crabs, shrimps, large bristle worms, etc).

My questions are as follows:

I would like to get the sumps filled and running a few weeks prior to moving the tank. I will be moving the rock from the main tank into the sumps on the day of the move to reduce weight in the main tank. Should I put some live rock that is not fully cycled in the sumps in order to "cycle" that part of the system?

Does the system need to be "cycled" as described above? Will the system do OK if you tripple the amount of water and fresh sandbed as long as I don't add additional bio-load?

Also, I have a sequence 3500pro21 pump. At no head, this pump will produce 3,500 gph. During the initial set-up of the sumps, can I throttle the pump back to 600 to 800 gph? It is a centrifigal(sp?) pump.

Any suggestions for the "switch" or "move" or whatever you want to call it?

 

[Carpentersreef]

thardin,
First off, I can't help you with the pump. I'm not familiar with it.

However, by adding sand over top of an existing DSB, you will be killing off the critters presently living in the aerobic top layer, and the die-off will happen at the same time as the new live sand recovers from wherever you are getting it from, the end result being that your new, deeper DSB will have to cycle again, almost from scratch. A few weeks will not be enough for the cycle to complete, but it should be enough for you to continue on with your project. (beacuse you already have a functioning anaerobic zone in your refugium, I'm assuming)
Where are you getting the 100# of live sand from? If it's from your main tank, you are going to have to vacuum it thouroghly before moving.
Do not use uncured rock in your sump to cycle it. That will only make the cycle take longer.

Mitch

 

[thardin]

Mitch, thanks for the reply.

I probably wasn't clear on my system. I have a 135 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump which was a FO tank for a year. I kept a small reef tank and decided to go for it with the 135. Over the last year, I have removed the crushed coral, added 2-3" of southdown sand and some live sand from LFS. I have about 200# of live rock in the tank with a few polyps, mushrooms, 3 doz nassarius, a few scarlet hermits, a large bristle worm, (1)large brittle star, (1) medium serpent star, (1) tuxedo urchin, and a 4" Hippo Tang. I have been holding off on any additional livestock as I need to relocate the tank.

I am basically ADDING the 100 gallon refugium, and a 100 gallon sump to the system. I am building a new stand in a different location and will have all of the plumbing done prior to moving the tank to it's new location.

The new sump and refugum are both sitting in my basement right now with 8" southdown sandbed in place with no water, I will be adding water to the system soon to check that the pump, skimmer, etc. are all working properly. I would like to add some live sand, rock from the main tank, and critters to the the sump / refugium and circulate them with the large pump to get them set-up prior to moving the tank. I will need to place all of my rock and livestock in the refugium during the tank move.

I am new to the hobby and would like to make this transition without upsetting the livestock I have now. Now that you have a better understanding of what I am doing, do you have any suggestions? Do I need to "cycle" anything at all? Will it go through a cycle with all of this new sand?

 

[Carpentersreef]

thardin,

The short answer is yes, the system is going to cycle again from scratch. You will be basically seeding a new system with LS from your old one. I seem to remember that a DSB takes about 4 months to fully mature.
Get the new system filled with both new water and with some from your present system. Also add a couple large pieces of cured LR right away. No other critters are needed yet.
A few weeks will really be pushing it, so I suggest that you test the new water for ammonia levels every couple of days, until you see the level spike and then drop to 0.
In the meantime, whenever you do a water change on your main tank, take that water and add it to the new setup.
Transfer your present livestock slowly to the new tank, not all at once, and only add more when water tests are within an acceptable range.

Mitch

 

[thardin]

Mitch,

Thanks again for the response. Still a little mis-communication here. I am utilizing the same tank and will not disturb the sandbed in it. I am adding a 100 Gallon sump and a 100 Gallon refugium to it (in the basement).

I am only moving the rock in order to relocate the tank a few feet within the same room. I also thought it might help establish the sandbed in the sump & refugium.

Do your comments still stand?