Reef Tank Upgrade

[big_al]

I’m upgrading from a 110 gallon reef tank to a 180 gallon tank and I have a question on filtration.
If I understand correctly, the biological filtration is primarily accomplished by the live rock and sand. The sump is primarily for mechanical filtration. If this is true, is there any reason I couldn’t use my existing wet/dry sump which appears to be working just fine? The sump also has bio-balls but it just happened to come that way when I bought the system.
Is there a recommended size for the sump that I would need if it’s strictly being used for mechanical filtration, housing the protein skimmer and UV Sterilizer?
Any suggestions or recommendations to avoid problems are greatly appreciated.

 

[gatorwpb]

I cant speak to the size issue, except that with a larger tank is a larger bioload and what worked on a 110 may not work as well on the 180.
But there is certainly some biological filtration that occurs in the sump if its a refugium. Cheatomorpha is an amazing remover of nitrates and people usually have deep sand beds in their fuges which accomplish the same thing. Youll get even better water quality (which is good for a reef tank) with a fuge.
But having a fuge is only an option and if your existing sump is working well for you, then no need to spend on bunch of money on a new one if you arent going to be increasing the bioload drastically. but this could be the time to upgrade to a fuge with the new tank.

At a minimum, you should change out the bioballs with live rock and/or rubble, as the balls collect detritis which becomes a nitrate source.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by GatorWPB
http:///forum/post/2623132
At a minimum, you should change out the bioballs with live rock and/or rubble, as the balls collect detritis which becomes a nitrate source.
Wouldnt LR collect the same amount of detrius?IMO getting rid of all the detrius collectors would be best,and just have some macro algae growing

 

[gatorwpb]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici http:///forum/post/2623147
Wouldnt LR collect the same amount of detrius?IMO getting rid of all the detrius collectors would be best,and just have some macro algae growing
Possibly. I am just repeating what Ive read many times on this board and --. also, the LR will allow anaerobic bacteria to filter out nitrate where bio balls will not. its a constant debate that doesnt have a real answer so I guess I shouldnt say they are a nitrate source, but they have their problems.
use the SEARCH function on this site and look up "bio Balls"
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/318532/how-many-people-here-use-bioballs
Very good thread here.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/320422/can-i-slowly-remove-my-bio-balls-in-my-sump-and-replace-them-with-live-rock

 

[kogle]

I think my bigger concern with using the wet dry/sump off of the 120 for the 180 would be if it's big enough to handle the extra water that would drain into it during a power failure. Other than that I would definitely run a fuge on a 180 reef tank and it should be seperate from the sump so water flow can be controlled better. Bio balls or rubble is up to you. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I personally used rubble before tearing down my 180 but I'm thinking about switching to bio balls when I set it back up. If maintained properly they should give you better filtration becasue of the added surface area. I had no problems out of my rubble though...
Hope this helps.
Kris

 

[big_al]

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I found a used 24 gallon berlin sump that I'm going to give a try. Should have sufficient mechanical filtration and the live rock/sand along with my protein skimmer should handle the rest. I'll also have to test the capacity to make sure I don't overflow during a power outage.