Live Rock In Sump

[Jason Bell]

So as the tile says, do many of you use live rock in your sump? Both drains will empty into filter socks, then flow to a skimmer chamber where I will have skimmer and bio pellet reactor, I then have a large chamber where I was planning on housing the rock and finally a bubble trap to the return.

A few other options I have been tossing around is a deep sand bed in that area with algae and obviously a light.

Using that spot for an algae scrubber.

Leave it empty and let the water flow through it down the road if I need to add something I would have the space.

The sump is 4 foot long, that area is about 20x20x18 with water.

 

[derrick orosz]

I have have probably 50-60 lbs down there... whenever I take a piece out for the display tank or something else they are always covered in pods which I figure is good

 

[Winks]

I have some live rock in my sump to add to the pod population of the tank. Keep in mind, that if you put rock in your sump you want to make sure that it is always covered with water. If it goes in and out of the water because of that section raising and lowering due to evaporation and the rock comes out of the water will cause the living organisms to die off causing decay, causing ammonia, causing a mini cycle.

 

[Jason Bell]

It would be always covered, my evaporation appears in the return chamber. I see many sumps with the bio blocks in areas, but I have never been a fan of them. I do like the idea of the algae scrubber, I watched the BRS episode on the 2000g tank in Minnesota and he was running 4 Clearwater scrubbers, obviously my application I would use 1.