SUMP(Filter media)

My tank is running for almost two years now and i have never ever cleaned ,moved or handeld my filter media.Do i need to clean it time to time or must i just let it be?

The water runs threw a pv'c pipe down into the sump, the first section is filter wool and the second is the media,3de is a small open section with a heater in and the last one is were my skimmer is.

 

wow, no nitrates yet?

 

How are your nitrates?
How much live rock do you have?

If you have plenty of live rock in the display.You can start removing them slowly over the next month.Say maybe 1/4 or 1/3 a week.Like Yote said,if its not giving you any problems then leave it.

 

IMO, I would slowly remove it. Then when it is all taken out of the sump, I would add some fresh filter meterial and get in the habit of cleaning it once a month. But definatly watch your nitrates and phosphates.

What are your parameters? Are you having any algae problems?

 

the filter media will have lost its effectiveness by now and is probably growing bacteria of some sort. I would change it, slowly. The wool needs to be rinsed out with RO water at the least. Up to you. It could be leeching nutrients back into the tank in the form of nitrates that could inhibit coral growth.

-Doc

 

Yip my nitrates went up from 5 to 20ppm in just this week.A cleaned my wool in my sump and my powerheads(conected to a filter) in my tank.
I have about 25kg of liverock in my MD.
I never realy had any problems with nitrates,only this week.
I also did a 20% Wc when i cleaned the filters
I saw my bta and florida shrink and then inflate again(every day since sunday)
Was it wrong doing a Wc and cleaning all of my filters??? I added carbon and nitrate mines today.
HELP??

 

I agree with Yote. You want to do small changes in your tank instead of big ones: like changing out filter media 1/3 at a time.

-Doc

 

i didnit change the filter media.(that is still undisturbed for 2 years)
I changed my wool and clead my intenal filters in my MD.
WILL

 

i didnit change the filter media.(that is still undisturbed for 2 years)
I changed my wool and cleaned my internal filters in my MD.
WILL THAT HAVE A EFFECT ON MY SYSTEM?

 

I like to keep things clean in my tank. I would clean it up, bit by bit.

-Doc

 

This wil sound stupid.... but wat does the filter media do?
My LFS told me than it is some kind of bacteria that eliminates amonia and nitrites and the bacteria in the liverock wll keep my nitrates low?
Is this true????

 

Sort of,the bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrite lives everywhere-live rock,sand,glass,equipment and filter media where O2 is available.The anerobic bacteria lives deeper in the sandbed(usually below 2'')and possibly inside the deep holes of live rock were oxygen is deprived.The anerobic bacteria is what consumes nitrate.In most reefs,there isn't enough of those areas to breakdown nitrates.Thats where refugium come into place.Macroalgae does a better job in reducing nitrates,IMO.Of course,water changes too.

 

someone told me that my ceramic filtermedia in my sum[p is nitrate factories,and that i must get rid of it slowly.
Is this true or not?
and if it is,with what do i need to replace it with?

 

don't know, last week it was:
Ph 8.2
nitrate 25
nitrite 0
amonia 0
ALK 10
PHOS 0.1
i uv sterilizer 90cm 30W, and a carbon and phos reactor.
I'll test water tom...