sump filter media

[thenewguy997]

Im setting up my 75g with 15g sump and im no sure what to put in my sump.

My tank will have 100+ lbs of live rock and a semi deep live sand bed.so it should have good biofiltration BUT..

What about mechaniall and chemical filters?im thinking a sock but ive read foam spongw is good to put in your sump bc it holds bacteria.

Skimmer will also go in there.

Just looking for some opinions and tips because im not sure

[thenewguy997]

bump

[Shaker nemo]

Same prob here. Setting up a 70g with a 20 g sump and I don't know what to use for filter media :D

[GatorsUF]

I hate running filter socks and sponges because I'm too lazy to clean them. I run a skimmer, bag of chemi pure elite, and a refugium. My water quality is always perfect. I have never felt the need to run a gfo or carbon reactor. I do a water change every 3 weeks and dose with my ato.

[Mark Bianco]

Filter socks are great for removing small particles bits of food and other things from the water. if not changed on a regular basis weekly is recommended the collected material will start to breakdown and raise your nitrates. Sounds like you have plenty of biological filtration. Although not needed this is what I do once every couple of months. I have an old hot magnum hob filter and get the micron element then run it for a couple of days this will polish the water to a crystal clear appearance. You only want to do this every so often since not only does it remove the unwanted items it also remove the good stuff like copods.

Mark

[DM1975]

I use a filter sock and change them every few days. It only takes a few minutes. I also have a block of pond floss in one of my baffle chambers. It never really gets dirty since the free sock catches all the crud first, but pods live in it and it grows bacteria.

I do have a GFO reactor but it's mainly because I started my tank with base rock and didn't cook it before hand. It created a massive hair algae problem and the GFO cleared it right up. Now I just run it to run it. I also have a basket of chaeto I recently added. It isn't really growing much but it is alive. I think my GFO is keeping it from growing. I mainly wanted the chaeto for pods to live in anyway.

Every once in a while I'll put a bag of carbon in the sump in one of the baffle chambers. I know many people that run all kinds of stuff in their sump and I believe it's all dependent on how your tank is set up. Some people don't have anything other than a skimmer and have wonderful tanks. I prefer to at least remove the big stuff with a sock. It may be an extra step in maintenance, but it isn't much and it saves on other maintenance in the long run.