IceCap 15 reef sump add on

[Raheem]

Hello Everyone,

New member checking in. My family and I recently purchased a 32g bio cube reef tank. We are new to the marine tank world and we are taking cautionary steps towards achieving our goal, which is to maintain and enjoy a beautiful reef and fish tank. With all that being said. We are wanting to install an IceCap 15 reef sump to our Biocube. My question is, has anyone completed a task like this before and if so, can you answer the following questions:
Cant the icecap 15 fit underneath my tank using the stand that comes with the 32g bio cube?
Would I need to remove my lid in order to run a sump?
The sump includes a klir automatic fleece filter, what other equipment must I need to ensure proper utilization and operation?
Appreciate your time and attention.

 

[DaveK]

In this case your talking about adding a sump to an all in one system that already has a filtration system.

You can do this, other preple have, but the amount of benefit you'll get for the amount of money and effory put into it is really not that cost effective. The question then becomes, what do you expect to get out of a sump and it their any other way to obtain what you want?

For the time being, I'd say say your money and don't add a sump.

 

[Raheem]

In this case your talking about adding a sump to an all in one system that already has a filtration system.

You can do this, other preple have, but the amount of benefit you'll get for the amount of money and effory put into it is really not that cost effective. The question then becomes, what do you expect to get out of a sump and it their any other way to obtain what you want?

For the time being, I'd say say your money and don't add a sump.

Thank you for your feedback. I've decided to not try to add a sump; I don't believe my water to be clear enough and my nitrate can't seem to go down. My tank is still circulating (week 2) however I am not sure why these factors exist in a tank with no live stock.

Any recommendations for clearing the water and lowering the nitrate?

 

[PSU4ME]

Can you walk us through what you did to get to where you’re at? A tank needs to cycle and without that it doesn’t properly set itself up and that can bring a host of issues and dangers to the tank/livestock.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to RS ! We Love pics !

 

[DaveK]

Thank you for your feedback. I've decided to not try to add a sump; I don't believe my water to be clear enough and my nitrate can't seem to go down. My tank is still circulating (week 2) however I am not sure why these factors exist in a tank with no live stock.

Any recommendations for clearing the water and lowering the nitrate?

@PSU4ME makes a good point. On a new tank, what your usually seeing is a bacteria bloom and/or some really fine dust and dirt that was in the sand or rock you used.

Once the tank is cycled, this will go away. This is because you will end up with a thin bacteria film over everything in the tank. This is what you want. This film is very sticky and it will filter out any haze your seeing in the tank.

 

[Raheem]

Can you walk us through what you did to get to where you’re at? A tank needs to cycle and without that it doesn’t properly set itself up and that can bring a host of issues and dangers to the tank/livestock.

So here are the steps I've taken thus far:
- Purchased the 32g bio cube
- purchased live sand
- purchased 4 pieces of live rock and three pieces of man made red rock
- In the bio cube, I have a protein skimmer and heater in the first compartment
- in the second compartment, I modified my filtration system. I removed the tray system and added two large reticulated foam sponges; right next to it, I have a large nylon media bag of matrix media high compacity bio filtration stones to accommodate my water flow.
- In the 3rd compartment, I removed the foam pad and replaced it with chemical filtration (matrix carbon round shape); I modified my pump by adding a bio cube UV sterilizer version 1. However I have not turned on the sterilizer as of yet.
That's pretty much it... nothing else has been done to the tank with the exception of weekly water checks.

How long exactly does it take for the water to cycle?

I'll stand by for your comments.

 

[PSU4ME]

It looks like your tank is still setting itself up and without livestock in it I would look to introduce a source to feed that bacteria. Usually fish waste would do it but tight now maybe a little fish food or a small piece of cleaned deli shrimp.

Have you tested parameters?

 

[Raheem]

It looks like your tank is still setting itself up and without livestock in it I would look to introduce a source to feed that bacteria. Usually fish waste would do it but tight now maybe a little fish food or a small piece of cleaned deli shrimp.

Have you tested parameters?

Yes, the last test showed, elevated nitrate, between 8.0-8.2 PH and 10 ammonia (which I don't understand why my ammonia is elevated with no waste in the tank)

 

[PSU4ME]

Your tank is still cycling from some sort of die off from either your sand or your rocks. When your ammonia and nitrites are 0, then think about adding a food source once a day, a little bit and keep testing for a week or so. if ammonia stays down then the take is "working" and you'd be ready for some early CUC or a fish. but don't go too fast on a new tank, create too much ammonia and you kill things!

 

[Raheem]

Your tank is still cycling from some sort of die off from either your sand or your rocks. When your ammonia and nitrites are 0, then think about adding a food source once a day, a little bit and keep testing for a week or so. if ammonia stays down then the take is "working" and you'd be ready for some early CUC or a fish. but don't go too fast on a new tank, create too much ammonia and you kill things!

ok, thanks

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Cycling tank:



Watch for the ammonia to soar then fall to zero, then the nitrites soar & then fall to zero, then the nitrates soar, once this happens, do water changes to get rid of the nitrates - tank cycled



Depending on the state of your LR (how cured it was & how much die off it had), in general it will look something like this...