what size fuge?

digidana · 01/04/2008, 12:53 PM

what would be the minimum size refugium for a 240g you would use...not including the areas for the sump and skimmer? thanks!

rustybucket145 · 01/04/2008, 01:02 PM

55gal + is what I would shoot for on that large of a tank... of course the bigger the better so if I had the room and the means I would go with a 100gal rubbermaid stock tank for the fuge, put several hundred pounds of sand in it and plant grasses and grow chaeto. Insert several mangroves and shine a half dozen power compact floodlights on it. Now thats a FUGE!!

jjj1100 · 01/04/2008, 01:08 PM

I have a 300g display, 40 gallon sump, and have just added a 110 gallon fuge. I got some cheato, and a 5 inch sand bed. I just started this less than a month ago, but the growth of the cheato is really rapid, and the amount of pods is mind blowing that can been seen just on the walls. I have a flow of about 100 gph going through the fuge so its about 1X per hour.

digidana · 01/04/2008, 01:41 PM

yay, i have a 55g, and that's the plan. i already have 21 mangrove plants to put in there and the sand is on the way. the pods multiply that fast??

100 gph doesn't stir it up? thanks!

rustybucket145 · 01/04/2008, 01:45 PM

100gph through a 100gal tank is nothing.... I'd say that it is not enough flow. Think of a marsh area, the tidal flows and ebbs are VERY strong, high flow through a fuge won't hurt anything, as a matter of fact I think it is beneficial.

jjj1100 · 01/04/2008, 01:47 PM

100 gph is like a trickle through 105 gallons of water...it is just moving the water through at a snails pace turning it over 1X per hour. some people have 5 to 10 X per hour through there fuge, and that defeats the purpose in my opinion. The pods are literally covering the wall, much to the delight of my gobies as i am sure some make it into the display.

jjj1100 · 01/04/2008, 01:49 PM

why would you want high flow throw a fuge? what benifit is there to that

rustybucket145 · 01/04/2008, 02:16 PM

Benefits are many. One is that you don't have to worry about slime algae, detrius buildup or a surface film. With my old setup I had a 30gal breeder as a fuge, and had 700ish gallons an hour going through it. I know what you mean by pods covering the glass, there were literally millions... everywhere.... rocks, sand, glass, in the chaeto and on the mangroves. When I scraped the viewing pane it was literally like watching a 'pod stampede' with them trying to get out of the way of the razor.

I guess my position on having a higher flow fuge comes from my personal experience on snorkeling trips in lagoons and marshes. There is no such thing as a 'low flow' area in these locations. The only slow periods is during tide changes and that only lasts a couple of hours a day. The whole point of having a fuge is to replicate a natural bio-filter.... is it not?

Another point is this.... no matter how fast the water is moving, your macros are only going to absorb a certain amount of nutrients in any given day.... they are going to absorb this amount whether the water is going fast or slow. So why not flow it fast and have healthy tumbling macros and productive bio-system?

01/04/2008, 12:53 PM	#1
digidana Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: GO VOLS! Posts: 921	what size fuge? what would be the minimum size refugium for a 240g you would use...not including the areas for the sump and skimmer? thanks!

01/04/2008, 01:02 PM	#2
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	55gal + is what I would shoot for on that large of a tank... of course the bigger the better so if I had the room and the means I would go with a 100gal rubbermaid stock tank for the fuge, put several hundred pounds of sand in it and plant grasses and grow chaeto. Insert several mangroves and shine a half dozen power compact floodlights on it. Now thats a FUGE!! __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

01/04/2008, 01:45 PM	#5
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	100gph through a 100gal tank is nothing.... I'd say that it is not enough flow. Think of a marsh area, the tidal flows and ebbs are VERY strong, high flow through a fuge won't hurt anything, as a matter of fact I think it is beneficial. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

01/04/2008, 02:16 PM	#8
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Benefits are many. One is that you don't have to worry about slime algae, detrius buildup or a surface film. With my old setup I had a 30gal breeder as a fuge, and had 700ish gallons an hour going through it. I know what you mean by pods covering the glass, there were literally millions... everywhere.... rocks, sand, glass, in the chaeto and on the mangroves. When I scraped the viewing pane it was literally like watching a 'pod stampede' with them trying to get out of the way of the razor. I guess my position on having a higher flow fuge comes from my personal experience on snorkeling trips in lagoons and marshes. There is no such thing as a 'low flow' area in these locations. The only slow periods is during tide changes and that only lasts a couple of hours a day. The whole point of having a fuge is to replicate a natural bio-filter.... is it not? Another point is this.... no matter how fast the water is moving, your macros are only going to absorb a certain amount of nutrients in any given day.... they are going to absorb this amount whether the water is going fast or slow. So why not flow it fast and have healthy tumbling macros and productive bio-system? __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

01/04/2008, 01:08 PM	#3
jjj1100 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 482	I have a 300g display, 40 gallon sump, and have just added a 110 gallon fuge. I got some cheato, and a 5 inch sand bed. I just started this less than a month ago, but the growth of the cheato is really rapid, and the amount of pods is mind blowing that can been seen just on the walls. I have a flow of about 100 gph going through the fuge so its about 1X per hour.

01/04/2008, 01:41 PM	#4
digidana Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: GO VOLS! Posts: 921	yay, i have a 55g, and that's the plan. i already have 21 mangrove plants to put in there and the sand is on the way. the pods multiply that fast?? 100 gph doesn't stir it up? thanks!

01/04/2008, 01:47 PM	#6
jjj1100 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 482	100 gph is like a trickle through 105 gallons of water...it is just moving the water through at a snails pace turning it over 1X per hour. some people have 5 to 10 X per hour through there fuge, and that defeats the purpose in my opinion. The pods are literally covering the wall, much to the delight of my gobies as i am sure some make it into the display.

01/04/2008, 01:49 PM	#7
jjj1100 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 482	why would you want high flow throw a fuge? what benifit is there to that