It has a 2" hole in it and a crack, it has been ptched with another piece of glass and lots of silicon over another crack! The whole panel needs to come off and a new one pit on really. Have no idea what make tank or sump is - sump might even be home made tbh
Looking better already! Once sump is fixed what media would you recommend and where should I put them? The sump has 3 sections at the moment but I'm going to alter it slightly so that the middle section is bigger and last section smaller. How many sections does it need? Got to get end panel fixed so might as well get any adjustments done at the same time.
Do I need to remove all the dry crusty stuff off the sump and equipment that sits in it as it is proving nearly impossible! I think it is dried on algae mainly but it is stuck on there like superglue!!
I paid £102 and it came with 4 eheim pumps and an aquamedic oceanrunner 6500 - I've seen these for sale online for £100!
Just need to fix sump and I'm ready to get it wet!
wow, it looks like a completely different tank since you have cleaned it up.
You can probably use some white vinegar to clean off the algae build up in the sump it's probably coralline and the vinegar should react with it and break down the calcium.
Is there an overflow pipe that you can connect the sump to? You basically just need piping from the tank to the sump and then from the sump pump back to the tank. Make sure there's a check valve or backflow break hole in the return pipe to prevent siphoning of the tank into the sump.
As far as media, you're most likely going to get advice to turn the sump into a refugium instead of using is as it was originally intended as a trickle filter. If you still want to use it as a trickle filter, you can use coral rubble as well as many plastic media that's available.
It does look like coralline algae, we managed to get nearly of it off but will try the vinegar on the bits left on the pipework. For sump media I have pond brushes, wool, coral gravel, and alphagrog - what would you suggest using and in what order? - the second section of sump is very small and last is huge but could try and move partition I suppose
What's a check valve or backflow break hole?! At the moment there is a pipe in one end that is nearly as high as the tank and the water flows in to the top of that down into the sump where an oceanrunner or6500 pumps it back up through a pipe that is about the same height as the other one but in the opposite corner. In the pipework from the pump is the thing I've shown in the photo - what's this?
Check valve allows the water to only flow one direction. When they power goes out, it would block the water from siphoning back into the sump.
A Backflow break hole is a hole in the return hose right below the waterline in the tank. When the power goes out and the water starts siphoning back into the sump, the break hole allows air into the return hose to break the siphon.
You won't need either as the overflow and return are built into the tank. When the water level gets lower than the return pipe, it will stop water from going into the sump should the power go out.
The picture is of a ball valve. Some people include these so they can shut off the pump temporarily while feeding the tank.
