24g DX Chamber questions/help

[pchezek]

Im not sure about putting the pump in the Chamber 1 idea. If its drawing the water from chamber one and flow it right back into the tank does it not go through the whole cleaning cycle? Seems like you are just putting dirty water right back into the system. Please correct me if I am wrong. I myself am trying to figure out the best setup for me.

 

Currently Chamber 1 - 1 sponge and Live Rock Rubble

Chamber 2- Refuge with LR and Halmeda with Egglite Pond Light

Chamber 3 - Carbon and stock pump

 

Any suggestions please reply, Im not into really modding this tank and would like to avoid this as far as cutting drilling etc.

 

Also I read about some people replacing the stock exahust nozzle with a spray bar , was wondering if that help and if it does where do you buy one that fits etc. My LFS doesnt really have anything like that.

 

 

Thanks for your time.

[artarmon42]

Originally posted by pchezek

Im not sure about putting the pump in the Chamber 1 idea. If its drawing the water from chamber one and flow it right back into the tank does it not go through the whole cleaning cycle? Seems like you are just putting dirty water right back into the system. Please correct me if I am wrong. I myself am trying to figure out the best setup for me.  

 

I think your assumption is that the rear chambers are a "cleaning" process... going from one chamber to another to further the cleaning process. In reality the chambers in the back are actually pretty free flowing (from one to the other and/or back). Water in chamber 3 is not practically any cleaner than in chamber 1.

 

Anyway, to get back to your question, I find that with my Rio 90 in chamber 1, most of the water is getting sucked in from the display area and blown back out. The reason is that the intake grate is so large, water flows in regardless of whether that pump is on or not.

 

How do I know this for sure? Because I see "stuff" getting sucked into the bottom part of the grate even when that pump is on. If anything I see things getting sucked in faster than if the pump was off.

[steelhealr]

Hi PChezek....I hope I can clear this up for you. One of the reasons many people remove their sponges, bioballs and ceramic beads is that they feel it retains detritus which then breaks down and produces nitrates, or, as you may have read here, the phrase 'nitrate traps'. By not using these, any floating matter or organic material stays in suspension and is either removed by water changes or by a skimmer if you decide to go that route.

 

Having the pump in the bottom, beneath the filter media, pulls the water down thru the media, filtering it thru whatever media you chose, and then returns it back to the main tank. Don't forget, the pump in chamber three is STILL pulling 295 GPH thru chambers one and two, trapping material (unfortunately) in the LR rubble (which needs to be gravel vac'd frequently). My water appears crystalline.

 

The openings between the walls between chamber 1/2 and 2/3 is not enough to support the draw of almost 500 GPH if you put both pumps in chamber 3 UNLESS, like some people here, you drill more holes in the separating walls. Some put the pump in chamber two, but, if you plan a refugium, it may or may not have a negative effect here. To date, I have had no problem with 'dirty water' in the main tank, In fact, I think it's better since water changes are removing more stuff. I also agree with the above post...the LR and your cleanup crew are your main filter. Hope this helped. SH