Bang Guy can you give me some advise?

[roadrunner]

I'm going to create a refugium. I'm using one of my parents old tanks (the tag said that is was 20 gal but i'm not sure).
Anyway. . .i'm planning on getting 2 pieces of plexy glass to divide the tank into 3 sections.
My question to you is this. . .i cant fit the tank underneth my tank and i cant fit it behind it unless i pull it out, can i put it on one side of my tank and will the water still be able to work its way to and from the refugium?

 

[bang guy]

On the side is fine.
Another option is a couple of rubbermaid containers. They can flex & often will fit under a stand. Instead of compartments, just glue the bottom of a smaller one to the inside of a bigger one.

 

[kistheeze]

Your best bet is to put it above. Or higher than the main tank if it has to go on the side. With that setup, the plexiglass isn't necessary - just have a hold drilled near the surface on the 20 gallon - add a bulkhead, and use it to flow back into the display tank. - Feed the fuge with a powerhead.
Done.

 

[roadrunner]

Bang - what is a good overflow as well as a return?
Also, can i put a skimmer on the back of the refugium instead of my main tank?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by Kistheeze
Your best bet is to put it above. Or higher than the main tank if it has to go on the side.
Why is that?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by roadrunner
Bang - what is a good overflow as well as a return?
Also, can i put a skimmer on the back of the refugium instead of my main tank?
I've had Reef Ready tanks since the 80's so I really can't recommend a good overflow.
If your sump has 3 chambers (Skimmer, refugium, return) then using the first chamber for your skimmer will work great.

 

[msd2]

I can offer 2cents about the overflow I highly suggest the lifereef overflows, or the U tube design. I have used the CPR's in the past and they have two drawbacks, one prone to overflows spilling water in a bad way and also they need a pump just to continually remove air.
The fuge ur making is like mine.. It has a section where the water flows into the fuge section, is baffled 3 times into the center part with my skimmer, then is baffled again 3 times to the pump to avoid air bubbles.

 

[roadrunner]

msd2 - what do you mean when you say baffled?
were can i find lifereef overflows or the u-tube?

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by roadrunner
msd2 - what do you mean when you say baffled?
were can i find lifereef overflows or the u-tube?
I will attach a pic of the style of baffles I put in. its nothing more than acrylic sheets siliconed in. the u tube design overflows can be found on ---- or many places online. you can do a search on yahoo for lifereef overflows should find them.
FYI the baffles are pink in the drawing. This is exactly what my fuge looks like.

 

[roadrunner]

msd2 - do you have sand in your refugium?
also wondering - right now i change 4 gals of water a week. with a refugium running do i still have to change the water every week or can i go to every other week?

 

[roadrunner]

how thick do the pieces of plexie glass need to be?

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by roadrunner
msd2 - do you have sand in your refugium?
also wondering - right now i change 4 gals of water a week. with a refugium running do i still have to change the water every week or can i go to every other week?
Yes, I have 4 inches of sand.
the acrlyic is 1/4inch. Really depends on how large your tank is, but to be on the safe side id suggest 1/4.
I do a 10% water change bi weekly. Some do 10% monthly.
FYI I did the first on each set of baffles to keep the water at a set height for the skimmer, I set mine to 7 inches since euroreef skimmers work best 6-8 inches of water. So the only chamber that is affected by evaporation is the chamber in which the pump is located.

 

[roadrunner]

with the way your glass is setup in your refugium, what would happen is the power goes out? i noticed that you have 2 peices that go to the top?

 

[msd2]

hmm lookin at my drawing it is a bit inaccurate so here are some minor changes 1. the two inside most baffles are the same height to keep the water level for the skimmer, also the baffle closest to the sump is 7 inches tall that way the water pulls from this section. Here is the pic edited. Just minor changes. I also added the sand and where the plants are at. Hope it helps, Im no artist so if u have a question let me know!

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by roadrunner
with the way your glass is setup in your refugium, what would happen is the power goes out? i noticed that you have 2 peices that go to the top?
the pump chamber and skimmer chamber will fill with water. It also only goes up as high as the glass, if for some reason it can still overflow the top of the glass on my tank w/o a concern because it has a 1.5inch top piece of plastic. That would only be used if the baffle got plugged up and the water needed to cascade over it to continue to flow. In reality the way mine is setup in porportions the pump area is small and could pump all of its water up and the fuge area would be able to absorb it before it would flood the fuge section. The drawing is not to scale.
So to make it clear the pump section has about 4 gal of water total. the fuge section holds about 25 gallons. the first baffle leaving the fuge is enough distance from the top to absorb to the top of the tank 4 more gallons easily. So section 3 is able to drained of all the water before it overflows section 1 to the plastic lip.
Hope that makes sense.... i think i just confused myself :notsure:

 

[roadrunner]

1st - thanks for your help up to this point.
2nd - is there a benefit having the sand and cheato in the first section and the skimmer in the second section?
My LFS told me to put the skimmer in the first section and the sand and stuff in the second section.
3rd - My LFS also told me that i can do 3 levels
try to example - l_._:_l
is this setup ok or would you recommend your setup? i hope the crapy ex helps.

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by roadrunner
1st - thanks for your help up to this point.
2nd - is there a benefit having the sand and cheato in the first section and the skimmer in the second section?
My LFS told me to put the skimmer in the first section and the sand and stuff in the second section.
3rd - My LFS also told me that i can do 3 levels
try to example - l_._:_l
is this setup ok or would you recommend your setup? i hope the crapy ex helps.
1- either way works, I set mine up like this because of some other restraints, given the option I would probably put the skimmer first, but it doesnt realy seem to matter much.
3- u will probably get micobubbles from your skimmer if you dont do a 3 style baffle. It helps to reduce the bubbles that go to the final pump. Also the drawback to that design I would guess is that it could become kinda noisey as well as a lot of splashing as the water evaporated. The perk with the water coming from the bottom is that there is no splashing and its whisper quiet.

 

[roadrunner]

what are the best type's of agle to put in the refugium, which will be benifical for my corals?
what type of lighting schedule do you run on yours?
will 15 watts of light be ok? i'm going to put the light from my tank on the refugium and placing a better light on the main tank.

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by roadrunner
what are the best type's of agle to put in the refugium, which will be benifical for my corals?
what type of lighting schedule do you run on yours?
will 15 watts of light be ok? i'm going to put the light from my tank on the refugium and placing a better light on the main tank.
I have cheato, one small suggestion dont put a huge amount in to begin. Start with some and let it grow to absorb what it needs to out of ur water. Starting with a big amount could pull the water clean then starve eventually killing off the plants. Since running mine the nitrates have gone to 0 and stayed there.
the light comes on at night to help keep the ph stable. lol im not at home but i think its on for about 8 hrs on a timer.
my lighting is very cheap. Its a clamp on light fixture and florescent bulb in a floodlight case from home depot. The bulb was like 7 bucks, and im guessing 5 for the lamp holder. I'm not sure of the wattage but I know its low, somewhere between 7-20wts. I got the info from this sight so maybe a search would be useful. I can take a look if u cant find it tonight after I get home from work.

 

[roadrunner]

Thanks for all of your help!
Do you recomend cheato? what actually does it do for the tank? are thier any other types of alge i should look at?