My filtration is not working - needs to be replaced fast, what do you reccomend?

[FishyFishy!]

Ok, so you have a sump. That is good! Forget a canister filter at all. The sump is your glorified canister filter. Is there anything like live rock in your sump?

Now, does your sump have baffles? Are you using anything for mechanical filtration like filter pads or filter socks? Baffles and mechanical filtration will really aid in the removal of floating particles and air bubbles. Your skimmer outlet could be producing bubbles as well, so a good set of bubble trap-baffles before your return section will get rid of most bubbles. You could also have a small air leak in your return plumbing.

Hopefully the new reactor they send you will work. They are beneficial for sure. The carbon should clear up your water, and the GFO should get those phosphates down.

If you want to run carbon and GFO for now, you can put them in some media bags, and run them through a hang on filter, that would work just fine for now.

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy!

Ok, so you have a sump. That is good! Forget a canister filter at all. The sump is your glorified canister filter. Is there anything like live rock in your sump?

Now, does your sump have baffles? Are you using anything for mechanical filtration like filter pads or filter socks? Baffles and mechanical filtration will really aid in the removal of floating particles and air bubbles. Your skimmer outlet could be producing bubbles as well, so a good set of bubble trap-baffles before your return section will get rid of most bubbles. You could also have a small air leak in your return plumbing.

Hopefully the new reactor they send you will work. They are beneficial for sure. The carbon should clear up your water, and the GFO should get those phosphates down.

If you want to run carbon and GFO for now, you can put them in some media bags, and run them through a hang on filter, that would work just fine for now.

Hi fishyfishy - no baffles, no live rock in the sump, no miracle mud, nothing yet I just set it up a week and a half ago (its my first attempt at a sump ever I've never had one and I built this one myself) No filter pads, no filter socks.

And thanks!! I am going to stick them in my filter tomorrow when I grab some media bags

[kien]

Originally Posted by mandyplo

Hi fishyfishy - no baffles, no live rock in the sump, no miracle mud, nothing yet I just set it up a week and a half ago (its my first attempt at a sump ever I've never had one and I built this one myself) No filter pads, no filter socks.

And thanks!! I am going to stick them in my filter tomorrow when I grab some media bags

A baffle is simply a wall in your sump that separates sections or directs water flow in a certain path. You appear to have 2 baffles that make 3 compartments in your sump. Baffles can be as simple as a single wall/divider or a series of walls that direct water flow. Some people build what are called bubble traps by employing two or more baffles.

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by kien

A baffle is simply a wall in your sump that separates sections or directs water flow in a certain path. You appear to have 2 baffles that make 3 compartments in your sump. Baffles can be as simple as a single wall/divider or a series of walls that direct water flow. Some people build what are called bubble traps by employing two or more baffles.

ok - so if I have 2 already how can I further reduce the bubbles ? Near the end of the night tonight before the lights went off the water was getting pretty cloudy

[kien]

Originally Posted by mandyplo

ok - so if I have 2 already how can I further reduce the bubbles ? Near the end of the night tonight before the lights went off the water was getting pretty cloudy

I'm not 100% certain I know what you mean by cloudy. To me cloudy and bubbly are two different things :-) Maybe a picture of the cloudy tank?

If you want to build bubble traps into your sump you will have to drain it and add additional baffles between your skimmer section and return section.

Here is an example of a bubble trap.



Bubbles will always tend to float to the surface, so in this picture, as the water flows over the first baffle, bubbles from your skimmer will mostly stay afloat as water travels down and under the second baffle. As water is forced to flow back up and over the third baffle so are any bubbles that may have made it through to this point.

And here is an actual application of the bubble trap.