Freshwater Sump & K1 Questions

[MadMan-JaMeS]

Hello All,

I'm looking for some advice about my setup.

I have a 7x3x2ft Tank & 5.5x2x2ft Sump. Its Freshwater.
Housing
1 x 12" Ray
3 x 5 Inch Rays
1 Arowana & Lima Shovelnose Catfish.

I've diveded the sump into 3 sections using drilled Acrylic.

First section is where the drains are and the water is filtered through 3 sponges and filter floss.
Second is about 4.5ft long with 100Litres of K1 Media, being tumbled by 2 airstones.
Third is where my return pump is and heaters, plus a few bags of Alfagrog media.

I'm wondering if that is enough K1 ? The tank is about 1000Litres and the sump holds about 500Litres when its running.

Also there is nothing right now stopping the sump from getting sunlight through the window. Should i try to cover it up so its in darkness will help the k1 darken up ?
There is no issues with water chemistry, the system has been running since xmas and i used alfgrog from my old tank to seed it.

thanks

 

[duanes]

If you get a zero reading for ammonia, and nitrite then you have enough biomedia ( if that's your purpose for K1) with the current stock.

The algae question is an interesting one.
Algae consumes nitrate.
I purposely have one of two sumps in an area outside where it gets about 4 hours of direct sun per day,

Once a tank is cycled, (unless something drastic happens) I seldom think about ammonia or nitrite, and reducing nitrate becomes my major concern (my goal is to maintain a less than 5 ppm nitrate average), and with this algae filled sump as now set up, and the tank being heavily planted with aquatic and terrestrial plants , and (of course) with regular water changes, (I tend to do daily small water changes) nitrate is is almost undetectable with my API liquid test.

And algae remains predominantly in this sump, and only small amounts migrate to the glass of the tank, where it also get gets about 2 hours of sun.

 

[MadMan-JaMeS]

Yes the k1 is bio media only. All mechanical filtration is done through the sponges.

I am tempted to add some moss balls to the last section of my sump to help keeps nitrates low, not sure if it will grow in there though as there is hardly any light.

 

[Oughtsix]

Yes the k1 is bio media only. All mechanical filtration is done through the sponges.

I am tempted to add some moss balls to the last section of my sump to help keeps nitrates low, not sure if it will grow in there though as there is hardly any light.

As Duanes put it, if you don't have any nitrites or ammonia you have enough bio-media.

If you have an algae issue you probably have too much Nitrates. The algae is actually helping consume your nitrates. Duanes tank is very heavily planted which does help with nitrates to a point. A few slow growing moss balls isn't going to make much difference in your nitrates. In my opinion your best option is to wash the Nitrates down the drain by implementing a fairly rigorous water change schedule to keep your nitrates in check.

 

[MadMan-JaMeS]

I don't have any algae issues. Theres none in the tank or sump.

I just wondered if covering the sump from any light helps the nitrification process. I know most Koi pond K1 chambers are sealed and dark.

 

[Oughtsix]

I have never known the nitrifying bacteria to need to be in the dark. My sump gets 12 hrs/day of light and I have not had any problems. I certainly don't know everything about nitrifying bacteria but from my experience I think you are fine and do not need to black out your K1 chamber.

If you don't have any ammonia, nitrites, or Algae I think your sump is doing what it is supposed to do and you don't need to change anything.