Refugiums

tee1172 · 05/03/2007, 04:37 PM

I have a 65 gal rr tank that is corals and fish, we are thinking of going to a 75 gal. Right now we have a tidepool sump and we were wondering if it would be better to make our own sump and make a refugium in the sump. I have heard good stories about them and then I heard they can really create a mess of problems. Can I get some input from the people here on reef central

frederickk · 05/04/2007, 09:23 PM

Making your own sump would be better as you can create and set your baffle the way you want.

If you divide it in three you can set the first part to be for your skimmer, the second part to be a fuge and the third part to be for your return pump.

At least that's the way I had it when I had my 77g running and everything went well.

GSMguy · 05/04/2007, 09:51 PM

make your own is great way to do it
the bigger the fuge the better.

alan214 · 05/04/2007, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tee1172
I have a 65 gal rr tank that is corals and fish, we are thinking of going to a 75 gal. Right now we have a tidepool sump and we were wondering if it would be better to make our own sump and make a refugium in the sump. I have heard good stories about them and then I heard they can really create a mess of problems. Can I get some input from the people here on reef central

A fuge that is "creating a mess of problems" is either setup wrong or is not truly being used as a fuge was intended to be.

tee1172 · 05/05/2007, 04:04 AM

so do any of you have pictures. I have seen and printed some to get ideas.

champscorner · 05/05/2007, 07:38 AM

Mine is setup skimmer - return - fuge but some people prefer all the drain water to be skimmed before entering the fuge. There are many different opinions. Just read up on it and go with what you feel would be best for you. Hope the pics help and take your time if you build your own. One of the most important things i found out when building mine, make sure you start out with an absolutley level surface to build on.

Sk8r · 05/05/2007, 08:38 AM

Entry compartment: small, water spills over top of baffle to...

Fuge compartment: most of sump: room for sand, rock, macro...and your topoff float, which bothers nothing: spills over top of next baffle to:...

Heater compartment, just big enough for your heater(s). This compartment spills under the BOTTOM of its baffle into...

The return compartment, large enough for your return pump and your skimmer pump. End of sump. Skimmer can sit either IN this compartment or atop the sump, on eggcrate. I chose the latter.

Eggcrate over the top of your fuge compartment with a small HO light for the macro. Set it to reverse light cycle with your tank: ph issues.

Note: the baffle on my return compartment has an additional crosswise slot about big enough for your index finger, which gives you just one more exit for the flow.

Note 2: I route my skimmer outflow hose to the entry compartment, which means all microbubbles have to pass cheato and a couple of baffles to reach my return pump: result: no microbubbles in the tank.

Note 3: I just installed a kalk reactor beside my sump: the autotopoff pump now feeds it, and its effluent spills to the return chamber, right in front of my skimmer intake: I'm told this is a big help for the skimmer in taking up phosphates. This reactor will handle both alkalinity and calcium automatically on five dollars worth of pickling lime every 180 days. So far so good.

HTH.

05/03/2007, 04:37 PM	#1
tee1172 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: pennsylvania Posts: 152	Refugiums I have a 65 gal rr tank that is corals and fish, we are thinking of going to a 75 gal. Right now we have a tidepool sump and we were wondering if it would be better to make our own sump and make a refugium in the sump. I have heard good stories about them and then I heard they can really create a mess of problems. Can I get some input from the people here on reef central __________________ Theresa

05/04/2007, 09:51 PM	#3
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	make your own is great way to do it the bigger the fuge the better. __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

05/05/2007, 04:04 AM	#5
tee1172 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: pennsylvania Posts: 152	so do any of you have pictures. I have seen and printed some to get ideas. __________________ Theresa

05/05/2007, 07:38 AM	#6
champscorner Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 276	Mine is setup skimmer - return - fuge but some people prefer all the drain water to be skimmed before entering the fuge. There are many different opinions. Just read up on it and go with what you feel would be best for you. Hope the pics help and take your time if you build your own. One of the most important things i found out when building mine, make sure you start out with an absolutley level surface to build on. __________________ we as human beings are the only creatures on earth that can dream and set out to make that dream become true Current Tank Info: 90gal w/30gal sump, in sump fuge, aqua C EV 180 skimmer ran on a mag 9, 2x 250w pheonix mh and 4x 54w t5, ehiem 1262 for return, 2xphosban reactors(carbon,phosban), 2 x K4 for more circ

05/05/2007, 08:38 AM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Entry compartment: small, water spills over top of baffle to... Fuge compartment: most of sump: room for sand, rock, macro...and your topoff float, which bothers nothing: spills over top of next baffle to:... Heater compartment, just big enough for your heater(s). This compartment spills under the BOTTOM of its baffle into... The return compartment, large enough for your return pump and your skimmer pump. End of sump. Skimmer can sit either IN this compartment or atop the sump, on eggcrate. I chose the latter. Eggcrate over the top of your fuge compartment with a small HO light for the macro. Set it to reverse light cycle with your tank: ph issues. Note: the baffle on my return compartment has an additional crosswise slot about big enough for your index finger, which gives you just one more exit for the flow. Note 2: I route my skimmer outflow hose to the entry compartment, which means all microbubbles have to pass cheato and a couple of baffles to reach my return pump: result: no microbubbles in the tank. Note 3: I just installed a kalk reactor beside my sump: the autotopoff pump now feeds it, and its effluent spills to the return chamber, right in front of my skimmer intake: I'm told this is a big help for the skimmer in taking up phosphates. This reactor will handle both alkalinity and calcium automatically on five dollars worth of pickling lime every 180 days. So far so good. HTH. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/04/2007, 09:23 PM	#2
frederickk Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,712	Making your own sump would be better as you can create and set your baffle the way you want. If you divide it in three you can set the first part to be for your skimmer, the second part to be a fuge and the third part to be for your return pump. At least that's the way I had it when I had my 77g running and everything went well.