Installing a fuge

[Tava176]

I am thinking about removing my bio balls from my sump and installing a refugium. I have a few questions though.

My current sump is a 20 gallon tank (30" long x 12" wide x 12" deep). I need about 6 inches for my return pumps and 12 inches for my ASM G3 skimmer. That leaves me with 12 inches for a sump.

1. Is a 12x12 inch sump (8 inches deep) big enough for a 90 gallon tank?

2. do I use 2 inches of regular play sand from Home depot and then an inch or so of live sand?

3. What do I use for lighting? will a simple 6500k flood light from Home Depot be ok?

4. Do I run the fuge light opposite of my tank lights for 12 hours a day?

Thanks!

[Spuds725]

#1. any is better then none-- can you add on a loop to a bucket and have it drain back to the sump??

#2. Whatever you prefer-- IMO I wouldn't use any sand in such a small fuge of if you do just go real shallow.

#3. That would work good.

#4 Thats what alot of people do, helps stabilize pH.

[mg426]

Any kind of refugium is a good thing for sure.I use Chaeyo in mine and it works great.Look up benthosfarms.com. They have the best chaeto I have found and the guy who sells it is a great dude.You can even call and talk to him. reverse lighting seems to help stabalize Ph. 6500 to 10k works great

[Tava176]

bump,

[Razzagas]

how much chaeto would i need for a 'fuge thats 19Lx12Wx9H?
I saw the benthosfarms.com and it looks really good, but they sell by the oz. So would i need 1, 2, 3...etc.?
Thanks

[know-it-all]

Originally posted by Spuds725
#1. any is better then none-- can you add on a loop to a bucket and have it drain back to the sump??

#2. Whatever you prefer-- IMO I wouldn't use any sand in such a small fuge of if you do just go real shallow.

#3. That would work good.

#4 Thats what alot of people do, helps stabilize pH.

Agreed, esp to question #1
add a 5 gal bucket fuge , and keep the sump vulme as is
(still remove the bioballs)
pretty much how I started out with my fuge's
then it went to a 15 gal
then to a 30 gal tub

#2 I use a 1" of CC, helps to stabalize the pH as well

#3 pretty much what I started out with
I'm current;y using a 55w 10k pc bulb

#4 I run it 24/7, but I don't use cheato.
My timer burnt up about 6 months ago, I never replaced it
I havn't noticed anything change in growth

your last question is easy
find someone localy and grab some from them
you don't need much to get it started

[Jamie2337]

Anyone have specifics on how to loop a bucket or container in? I am wanting to add a fuge to my system, but it is a room divider. A HOB is not an option. I need one that is plumbed into my sump. Any ideas how to do that? I have a 30L sump but not enough room for a fuge. I want to add one somewhere, but am not sure how!

Thanks!

Jamie

[know-it-all]

I picked up a 1" bulkhead for Marine Depot and drilled a 200g salt bucket
I added a small PH to pump water into the bucket, it drained back into the sump

hooked up a spot light, got some macro algea, and I had a fuge.

all together, took about 1/2 hour to make
1/2 hour to install

[Jamie2337]

Do you have any pictures???

[roverrange]

Your sump is 18.7 Gal. before your skimmer, motor, and water clearance for when you turn off your main pump. You probably have less that 15 gal of water in your sump.

To easily increase the size of the sump, buy a medium power head, poke two holes the size of the tubing into the lid of a 7 gal salt container. Place the power head in the container and the two tubes in your sump. The amount of water going into the the sump will be the same as the amount of water going out. This is what spuds refered to as looping

If you have enough room, you can use a thirty Five gallon garbage can. You can also create a daisy change using more than one container.

[know-it-all]

[Tava176]

know-it-all,

How well does that padding muffle the noice of the pumps?

Was it worth the $$$ and time spent installing it?

Is it basically just that eggcrate foam used for puting on top of your bed mattress?

Thanks!

[Spuds725]

Plumbing in a bucket loop is not hard... would be easiest and least amount of trouble to use bulkheads for a goes in and goes out... if you submerge a hose or something you can back siphon if you lose power and possibly have a flood.

This thread has several pictures of bucket loops... in this case its for a remote Deep sand bed (aka bucket sand bed)- but it would be similar for a fuge addition..

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=595109

I set up a bucket loop for a DSB with a MJ1200, some tubing for a goes in, and 1" PVC returning to my sump--- I cut the holes for my bulkheads with a dremel tool (drywall bit)

Another way if its feasible... is to hang your skimmer on the bucket, but have the pump for the skimmer pull from the sump, then have just a gravity return via a bulkhead back to the sump.

[know-it-all]

Originally posted by Tava176
know-it-all,

How well does that padding muffle the noice of the pumps?

Was it worth the $$$ and time spent installing it?

Is it basically just that eggcrate foam used for puting on top of your bed mattress?

Thanks!

yes, it helps a lot.
It's the actual noise reducing foam (www.mcmaster.com)
I got it mainly for my Mag 7 running my skimmer was unbearably loud.
Since the photo, the tank has been upgraded to a 94 corner and sump was moved into the basement, where it can make as much noise as it wants
Now I wrap my drain lines with the foam, so all I hear is the gentle hum
of seio's and PH's

[Tava176]

Sweet! I am going to get some!

Thanks!