Separate sump and refugium design

serenfishity · 05/03/2012, 02:00 PM

First let me say thank you for any help or thoughts you can give.
This is my first post, but I have learned a ton from just reading the posts in the past. That being said,

Does anyone have any experience building a separate sump and refugium in a stand?
My dilemma is I had to break down a tank and place the contents from a 155 Bow into a 5 foot 120. I was using a 40 breeder as a sump and fuge under the 155.
The current stand doesn't have room for the breeder and because it was a rush job, I didn't plan very well.
I should have slid the 30 long i have in from the back of the stand. It wont go in from the front.

My question is this; could I use a 10 gallon as the sump to hold the skimmer, and plumb that to a standard 20 gallon as the refugium, running my return pump from the 20?
Anything special or challenging that I should be aware of?

Playa-1 · 05/03/2012, 02:23 PM

It can be done. The special and challenging considerations are the skimmer fitting into the 10g that is big enough to service the 120. Plumbing the two tanks together will be another challenge. Getting the water effectively from the 10 to the 20 could prove challenging. You need the water to move from the 10 to the 20g at least as fast as the drains are moving water from the DT to the 10. The water level in the 10 has to remain consistent for the skimmer to be effective. It's doable if it's planned out properly.

serenfishity · 05/03/2012, 08:32 PM

Any chance someone can point me towards a thread where this has been done?

Anyone have an alternative?

Heliman · 05/03/2012, 10:00 PM

I have a similar problem, my existing sump will not accommodate my new skimmer, the 'fuge and also provide enough clear space for a stable top-off water volume section.

What I have done is to position my 'fuge above my sump. I fixed 2 10mm glass plates to the sump wall and made a glass bridge on which the 'fuge can stand. The 'fuge itself is a 5 gall plastic aquarium that I got very cheap from my LFS. It came with its own Compact flouro light which I will change for a "grolux" type (or something more appropriate to grow Cheto) . I will feed it seperately with a small pump located in the sump and it will have its own overflow back into the sump. Overflow holes and a safety drain are easily drilled in this material, so this can all be "tailor made"

I felt the "hydraulic engineering" challenge to plumb this 'fuge into the main return was too risky.

This way, I can regulate the water into the fuge to give whatever dwell time works best for water conditioning...this will be by trial and error over the next few months.

Joel_155 · 05/03/2012, 10:21 PM

Hey guys. I made separate refugium as i was given a sump and it wasnt big enough to fit a fuge that was 10% of my dt so i made a seperate one. The wiring isnt fantastic and ive been meaning to cable it but i havent found the time.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

05/03/2012, 02:00 PM	#1
serenfishity Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 4	Separate sump and refugium design First let me say thank you for any help or thoughts you can give. This is my first post, but I have learned a ton from just reading the posts in the past. That being said, Does anyone have any experience building a separate sump and refugium in a stand? My dilemma is I had to break down a tank and place the contents from a 155 Bow into a 5 foot 120. I was using a 40 breeder as a sump and fuge under the 155. The current stand doesn't have room for the breeder and because it was a rush job, I didn't plan very well. I should have slid the 30 long i have in from the back of the stand. It wont go in from the front. My question is this; could I use a 10 gallon as the sump to hold the skimmer, and plumb that to a standard 20 gallon as the refugium, running my return pump from the 20? Anything special or challenging that I should be aware of?

05/03/2012, 10:00 PM	#4
Heliman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 266	remote sump I have a similar problem, my existing sump will not accommodate my new skimmer, the 'fuge and also provide enough clear space for a stable top-off water volume section. What I have done is to position my 'fuge above my sump. I fixed 2 10mm glass plates to the sump wall and made a glass bridge on which the 'fuge can stand. The 'fuge itself is a 5 gall plastic aquarium that I got very cheap from my LFS. It came with its own Compact flouro light which I will change for a "grolux" type (or something more appropriate to grow Cheto) . I will feed it seperately with a small pump located in the sump and it will have its own overflow back into the sump. Overflow holes and a safety drain are easily drilled in this material, so this can all be "tailor made" I felt the "hydraulic engineering" challenge to plumb this 'fuge into the main return was too risky. This way, I can regulate the water into the fuge to give whatever dwell time works best for water conditioning...this will be by trial and error over the next few months.

05/03/2012, 02:23 PM	#2
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	It can be done. The special and challenging considerations are the skimmer fitting into the 10g that is big enough to service the 120. Plumbing the two tanks together will be another challenge. Getting the water effectively from the 10 to the 20 could prove challenging. You need the water to move from the 10 to the 20g at least as fast as the drains are moving water from the DT to the 10. The water level in the 10 has to remain consistent for the skimmer to be effective. It's doable if it's planned out properly.

05/03/2012, 08:32 PM	#3
serenfishity Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 4	Any chance someone can point me towards a thread where this has been done? Anyone have an alternative?

05/03/2012, 10:21 PM	#5
Joel_155 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,402	Hey guys. I made separate refugium as i was given a sump and it wasnt big enough to fit a fuge that was 10% of my dt so i made a seperate one. The wiring isnt fantastic and ive been meaning to cable it but i havent found the time. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2