Macro algae clogging skimmer

[aquiman]

Hi all. I'm still a newbie and need a suggestion on preventing macro algae from clogging my skimmer. At the advice of my local FS I added a clump of macro algae to the center bay of my sump. He suggested just throwing it in there with a light on it and all would be fine, but I think it needs to be held together somehow so it all says put and pieces don't wander. My main pump is in the right bay and there is a sponge on the input to prevent clogging. The skimmer is on the left but there is no sponge for it to keep out crud. I thought of two ways to try to solve the issue but wanted to bounce them off you guys to see if they makes sense or maybe you have some better advice. First I thought I would get some sort of nylon bag with a draw string to hold it all together in that? The other thought was a nylon stocking and maybe putting the skimmer pump in it to keep stuff out, but the holes might be too small and that might cause more problems. Advice appreciated! Thx.

 

[sweatervest13]

Is your skimmer in its own separate chamber in the sump?? Or is your fuge and skimmer in the same chamber?
For me, the different chambers keep the macro's out of the skimmer pump. The macro can't jump up the water fall of the baffle.

Now, when I do a WC and shut off the return pump the sump will fill past all the baffles and some macro algae can back flow into the skimmer chamber. I use a net to scoop up all floaters.
Some skimmers will have a little flow guard to block the intake a bit (at least some HOB skimmers that go in tank). But my in sump skimmer has an open intake to the pump.
You could try to make a little guard with some small pieced of eggcrate.
Do you have a pic of your sump and skimmer pump intake?

 

[aquiman]

Based on your comment, I think my water level may be too high. The bio balls are floating above their little chamber between the right and center bays. Here is a pic that shows the setup. I am a newbie with thick skin so if you see something that doesn't look right, please tell me so I can fix it. All I have right now in the center is mud and the macro algae so I don't know if this is even considered a refugium. I thought of the egg crate but thought the holes would be too big. Advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquiman http:///t/396189/macro-algae-clogging-skimmer#post_3529356
Based on your comment, I think my water level may be too high. The bio balls are floating above their little chamber between the right and center bays. Here is a pic that shows the setup. I am a newbie with thick skin so if you see something that doesn't look right, please tell me so I can fix it. All I have right now in the center is mud and the macro algae so I don't know if this is even considered a refugium. I thought of the egg crate but thought the holes would be too big. Advice appreciated. Thanks!

All sumps are different. Looking at yours (nice little package there. You have it organized very nicely!!) it seems that the skimmer is that smoked acrylic squared off piece of equipment next to the drain line (to the far left). Is that right?? Than, your fuge chamber, and finally your return pump to the far right?
How does the water spill over into the fuge section?? Some use a three baffle setup (like over, under, over), and some use a single baffle (I have a single baffle sump, i'll post up a pic for you to see). Are you running an ATO, or do you top off by hand?
Here is a pic of my sump setup.
If you look closely you can see the skimmer section is far left then the single baffle to the large fuge section, then the return pump section. I keep the water level with a tunze osmolator ATO unit, and I keep the fuge and the return pump section at the same height (these two sections are separated by the baffle and a piece of gutter guard that you can't really see, but it goes to about the height of that blue tape strip on the right). The skimmer section height is maintained by the single glass baffle and it overflows and drops about an inch to the fuge.
This is an older pic (07/2012).
Here is a newer one but it does not show the sections as well.


Hopefully this gives you another look at some sumps so you can get a feel for what can work. Not everybody's will be setup the same. I am spoiled rotten and have a fish room that can house a large sump (this one is 48" x 18" x 18"= 67g) and a 32g Brute trash can for the ATO holding reservoir.

 

[aquiman]

Wow, that's a great set up! Thanks for sharing. Yes, on the left is my skimmer - the smoked acrylic. The left baffle is only a single and there are two cut outs in it for the water to flow right into the fuge. Since the clogs are happening in the skimmer, I think some of the macro algae is making its way through the main pump in the right chamber and into the DT and them coming into the left chamber via the return and flowing over the sock when the sock is ready for a cleaning. I manually do my top offs since my RODI filter and 32g brutes are in a different area of the house. Is what you are showing in the pics under your DT? I love the idea of a gutter guard! I can use it to keep the bio balls from going into the fuge and at the same time keep the macro algae from leaving the fuge chamber. Here is a pic of my RODI & salt setup that I wish I could somehow connect to my DT for top offs and water changes! It sits over my washer and dryer in the laundry room on the floor below. Too bad it's not directly below the DT....

 

[sweatervest13]

Yeah the gutter guard works well. My sump is set up in a closet adjacent to my DT. It's a 6x9 room. The plumbing runs about 7 feet through the wall to the fish room.
It sounds like everything drains into the skimmer section through the filter sock. Then the baffle has openings to get to the fuge section??? Or it overflows to the fuge??

 

[aquiman]

Wow, nice setup you have! You are correct that everything drains into skimmer section and through the sock (or over it if its dirty)... Then through the two openings about midway up the left baffle and into the fuge. I have a spare piece of plastic gutter guard and already started to cut it to fit on top of the right baffle. I think this will help a lot. I also have a small nylon bag with small holes in it that I might throw the macro algae into for double protection. Between the two, I think I can solve this problem. Thanks very much!

 

[saxman]

What species of macro do you have? For just "tossing it into the sump", Cheatomorpha is the best, as it holds together in a clump (think brillo pad). I'd put it in another chamber, as mentioned if you can. If you have it in the first chamber, there's a lot of turbulence from the drain inflow as well as the skimmer outflow that would cause it to move around.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by saxman http:///t/396189/macro-algae-clogging-skimmer#post_3529369
What species of macro do you have? For just "tossing it into the sump", Cheatomorpha is the best, as it holds together in a clump (think brillo pad). I'd put it in another chamber, as mentioned if you can. If you have it in the first chamber, there's a lot of turbulence from the drain inflow as well as the skimmer outflow that would cause it to move around.
I'm sure you are correct if the chaeto is being beat to death by flow... I put Chaeto in my little "refugium" chamber back when I first wanted macros...it broke apart into tiny bits, and the little pieces went everywhere, clogging EVERYTHING. Somebody told me that was how chaeto went sexual, the feather or grape caulerpa makes the water like milk when it goes...but chaeto becomes a million tiny pieces. Is it possible that's what is going on here?

 

[aquiman]

Hmmmmm. No idea what species but it sounds like the same problem Flower is talking about. There is a big clump that seems to stay together in the middle chamber but also a lot of smaller pieces that are not part of the clump that move around from the turbulence in the center chamber... They end up flowing over the right baffle and going into the right chamber and through the main pump, through the DT and make their way back into the left chamber where they clog the skimmer. Here is a picture of what the stuff looks like. I put a piece of plastic gutter guard on top of the right baffle and its now stopping the longer pieces but the smaller pieces are still making it through. For now, I put the stuff in a nylon bag to contain it, but I don't know if that's the answer. Am I safe with a nylon bag not contaminating the tank as long as its clean? Thank you for your input!

 

[saxman]

Yep, that's "Cheato"...the bag is no problem.
Flower,
I've heard the same thing, and it makes sense, but I've never seen a "real" reference to that effect, so for now, it's "hearsay" in my book. I used to bounce this stuff off of someone who was working on her doctorate in marine plants, but we've since lost contact.

 

[beaslbob]

Turn off the skimmer?

 

[aquiman]

Well, rather keep the skimmer going for crud control. I wonder if there is too much flow causing it to be dragged through the system. Anyway, between the gutter guard and the nylon bag, I think I've got this one figured out. Thanks all for the help.