Red sea reefer 170
 

A query regarding sump setup.

The black sponge that sits between the main sump and return section, I'm thinking of removing that and using nano tech bio balls as biological filter.

I've heard the black sponge is a bit of a nitrate factory.

The bio balls act like live rock without taking up the space.

Any advice in general on the sump in the reefer 170

Thanks Antony

Bioballs are just as much of a nitrate factory. You could remove the sponge and leave that area vacant, I'm just not sure what that might do to bubbles in the return (the sponge is there to stop bubble from getting into the return pump.

Kevin

The sponge is fine as long as you are willing to clean it every three days. As posted above I would not recommend bioballs, they will increase your nitrates.

Thanks for info, my local fish shop advised on using these maxspect nano-tech bio-sphere for my sump. They showed me them using that setup in the sump for there frags.

On another note, I have flat worm, I have got rid of most, but have purchase flatworm exit to make sure.

I'm thinking of this method, taking my rock and corals out in one go all glued together putting into a large tub with 25 litres out of my tank, using flatworm exit in the tub, whilst this is happening, removing my sand which I've been thinking of changing, this way it keeps flatworm in the tub once dead and use fresh saltwater when returning to the tank the rock and corals.

Can you elaborate a little on this please? Aren't bioballs just a plastic ball with a bunch of protrusions on it? Don't they perform the same way that everything else that's submerged does? (your untouched back glass, the walls of your sump, the inside of your skimmer etc)

What if we were to replace the bioballs with a bunch of frag plugs, would it still be a Nitrate factory?

The problem with Bioballs (or frag plugs) is that while they do a very good job at converting ammonia to nitrates, they do not have a deeply porous structure like rock does. The deep cavities in rock create anaerobic zones that host the bacteria that breaks down nitrates; bioballs have no such capacity. Bioballs also catch a lot of detritus so they need to be cleaned frequently.
As far as the Flatworm Exit goes I've found it works better at 1-1/2 times the recommended dosage. There is no need to remove the rocks unless you want to do so to get to the sand. You should treat the tank 3 times at 4 day increments with Flatworm Exit to kill off all the newly hatched worms, it will not kill their eggs.

So is all rock good? I understand the imporatnce of the pores, but don't these get clogged too? Much like a sponge does? Can't Hydrogen sulfide build up in the rocks too? Much like a sandbed can? As far a sthe bioballs catching detritus goes, where? In between the protrusions? I used to have an old Fluval canister filter on my Discus tank a long time ago. Each compartment was filled with bioballs. I would dump all these out into a bucket of tank water to preserve the bacteria every 3 months or sobut it was amazing how clean the water was afterwards. The water flowed right through them. I guess I just think they get a bad rap. Nitrate factory, I don't think so.There's more to it than that.

Fish place advised me these are a new type of design giving a large surface area, the manufacturer claim it is the same as what is used by sewerage treatment farms.

Thanks to thegrun regarding the treatment of flatworm I will do as you say and on the last treatment change my sand.