KarenM Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 What kind of light should I put on my sump? Also, I'm going to get some cheato for it but would it do any good to put some kind of sandbed in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsr Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I have heard that you can get some cheaper lighting from Home Depot/Lowes to light the fuge. They sell a clip on light that takes a small CF bulb. I dont have a fuge but see alot of folks off Reef Central using that setup. Sorry, I cant answer the sand question. I would think that if the flow was pretty slow it would not cause a sand storm. You could also do live rock if you are just looking at additional filtration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99taws6 Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Karen, I think sand in a fuge is good, but if you don't have a seperate fuge area it might get sucked into your return pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Good points, James and George. So I'll just go with cheato. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 You might still want to make some kind of seperation (maybe eggcrate). Chaeto can plug a return pump easier than sand. I have a clip on fixture with a CF bulb for the refuge area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 You might still want to make some kind of seperation (maybe eggcrate). Chaeto can plug a return pump easier than sand. I have a clip on fixture with a CF bulb for the refuge area. I have 2 areas in the sump, a larger one on the left where all the water flows in and a smaller one on the right where it goes into/comes from the sump and goes back into the tank (is this right Gabriel/Craig/George?). The divider between the areas has 2 holes about 1 1/4" in diameter and a large sponge about 4" thick. The sponge has floated up and is blocking the holes so that it would be "straining" the water that goes into the right side of the sump. Is this OK, or should I put the sponge back downand block the holes with eggcrate? What is the sponge for, anyway? What is a "CF" bulb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 CF = Compact Fluorescent. Yes the first chamber is the overflow and the second the return. The sponge is supposed to help keep bubbles out of the return. I think that you should leave it where it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 OK, thanks, Gabriel. (I put the output nozzles back where you had them, too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4R00P3R Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 (edited) You can probably see my fuge in my picture. I have sand and a few rocks. I let the rock get hit by the incoming water so the sand doesn't blow away. It works wonders. I have a mag 12 so there is probably over 1000 gph of flow and no problem with sand. I have my return pump and skimmer in the small area in the sump. I usually leave the sponge in to keep larger debris out of the pumps. I have to clean out the sponge every couple days or the water will not flow through it. I hope this problem goes away when I have more life eating off the debris in the sponge. Sometimes I do have trouble with bubbles, but I just keep the return pump intake as far from the skimmer as possible. For lighting the principle is the same as your main tank. I think the old rule of thumb was 3-6 watts per gallon depending on what you're trying to grow. The new rule of thumb has more to do with lumens, but I'm not sure how many. Edited October 27, 2007 by 4R00P3R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 So should I put some cleaner things in there, like snails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bmwaaron Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 It cant hurt to put snails in the fuge. Just be careful they cant get into the return pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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