Newby needs some advice about a refugium

GunRunner64 · 08/26/2016, 12:07 PM

Hi,

I'm wondering if a 10 gallon refugium is big enough for a 55g reef/fish DT. I currently have 2 clowns, 2 anemone, and 5 different kinds of small corals. The reason I'm asking about a 10 gal. is because a 20g will not fit inside the cabinet that I have. Thanks for any advice.

mcgyvr · 08/26/2016, 12:17 PM

bigger the better..

My opinion... is don't waste your time with 10 gallons.. Its simply not worth it..
The juice isn't worth the squeeze..

IMO.. A 20G long is the smallest sump I would ever want unless I was doing a nano tank..

jacob.morgan78 · 08/26/2016, 12:23 PM

You asked about a refugium, did you mean sump? A lot of times, people will have section of their sump for a refugium and the rest baffled off for equipment and whatnot. If it's purely for a fuge, then yes it's enough. If its for a sump, the big factor is how much water will come back down after the return pump is off. If it's not big enough, you'll have a flood!

HTH

Sk8r · 08/26/2016, 02:30 PM

A 10 gallon sump can hold the equipment you need to run the 50, but you won't have room for a fuge in it, really. You can put some critters in it (like crabs) that might harm the dt, but not really a fuge.

Buddy55 · 08/26/2016, 09:27 PM

What about the fact that a main pump power off could flood your floor. My 20l on my old 55 barely cut it. There are some things and planning you can do however to minimize I suppose.

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

SeaCucumberFan · 08/26/2016, 09:36 PM

I think you mean a sump, usually, there is a part of the sump to house things that will harm the display tank (e.g. Starfish, Stone crab), and some people call it a fuge, but it's not really a fuge. It still acts like a fuge though (e.g. You can put some macroalgae there to reduce nitrates.)

GunRunner64 · 08/27/2016, 12:25 PM

That's kinda what I was thinking. I was afraid that it wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I'm thinking to building a new tank stand with a slide out bottom shelf for easy of maintenance anyway. Thank for the advice everyone.

GunRunner64 · 08/27/2016, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddy55

What about the fact that a main pump power off could flood your floor. My 20l on my old 55 barely cut it. There are some things and planning you can do however to minimize I suppose.

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

I've read about flooding issue. I was thinking of using a siphon inflow line to feed the refugium. I'm thinking of experimenting with the water levels in the DT and refugium, figure out where to right spot is on the siphon line is and drill a hole in it to break the siphon just before fuge overflows. I'm not going with the 10 gal tho. If you were have issues with a 20, then a 10 is a waste of time. Thanks

Ican · 08/28/2016, 08:19 PM

I have a 10 gallon refugium on my 46 gallon tank, and it is literally the only filtration my tank gets other than a DIY Protein skimmer made from a piece of PVC and a skimmer cup that sits in the inflow side of the fuge. My middle section is the refugium area, which holds about 2" of fuge mud, another 1" of sand on top, and is populated with live rock rubble, chaeto, and tons of pods of all sorts. The third section is the return, which has a 650GPH pond pump throwing water back up to the tank. My only problem is evaporation, as the return side of the fuge gets low enough for the pump to suck air after only about a gallon of water evaporates from the DT.

Not to say that 10g is enough for your 55g, but it can work if you use the right equipment and don't have the space for something bigger. (I can't physically fit a 20L under my 46g tank, so 10g was the only option for me.)

08/26/2016, 12:07 PM	#1
GunRunner64 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3	Newby needs some advice about a refugium Hi, I'm wondering if a 10 gallon refugium is big enough for a 55g reef/fish DT. I currently have 2 clowns, 2 anemone, and 5 different kinds of small corals. The reason I'm asking about a 10 gal. is because a 20g will not fit inside the cabinet that I have. Thanks for any advice.

08/26/2016, 12:17 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	bigger the better.. My opinion... is don't waste your time with 10 gallons.. Its simply not worth it.. The juice isn't worth the squeeze.. IMO.. A 20G long is the smallest sump I would ever want unless I was doing a nano tank.. __________________ Who me?

08/26/2016, 02:30 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	A 10 gallon sump can hold the equipment you need to run the 50, but you won't have room for a fuge in it, really. You can put some critters in it (like crabs) that might harm the dt, but not really a fuge. __________________ 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%.

08/26/2016, 09:27 PM	#5
Buddy55 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 171	What about the fact that a main pump power off could flood your floor. My 20l on my old 55 barely cut it. There are some things and planning you can do however to minimize I suppose. Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk __________________ 90 gallon DT w/40 gallon sump

08/26/2016, 12:23 PM	#3
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	You asked about a refugium, did you mean sump? A lot of times, people will have section of their sump for a refugium and the rest baffled off for equipment and whatnot. If it's purely for a fuge, then yes it's enough. If its for a sump, the big factor is how much water will come back down after the return pump is off. If it's not big enough, you'll have a flood! HTH

08/26/2016, 09:36 PM	#6
SeaCucumberFan Moved On Join Date: May 2016 Location: Sleman, Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia Posts: 858	I think you mean a sump, usually, there is a part of the sump to house things that will harm the display tank (e.g. Starfish, Stone crab), and some people call it a fuge, but it's not really a fuge. It still acts like a fuge though (e.g. You can put some macroalgae there to reduce nitrates.)

08/27/2016, 12:25 PM	#7
GunRunner64 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3	That's kinda what I was thinking. I was afraid that it wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I'm thinking to building a new tank stand with a slide out bottom shelf for easy of maintenance anyway. Thank for the advice everyone.

08/28/2016, 08:19 PM	#9
Ican Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 7	I have a 10 gallon refugium on my 46 gallon tank, and it is literally the only filtration my tank gets other than a DIY Protein skimmer made from a piece of PVC and a skimmer cup that sits in the inflow side of the fuge. My middle section is the refugium area, which holds about 2" of fuge mud, another 1" of sand on top, and is populated with live rock rubble, chaeto, and tons of pods of all sorts. The third section is the return, which has a 650GPH pond pump throwing water back up to the tank. My only problem is evaporation, as the return side of the fuge gets low enough for the pump to suck air after only about a gallon of water evaporates from the DT. Not to say that 10g is enough for your 55g, but it can work if you use the right equipment and don't have the space for something bigger. (I can't physically fit a 20L under my 46g tank, so 10g was the only option for me.)