building a refugium

[gregvabch]

i am seriously thinking about building a refugium for my 55 gal, with a sump area for a skimmer, but i don't know exactly how big i should build it. i'm limited in space since i want to keep it under my aquarium, which gives me 2 feet of overhead and about 4 feet of length, but from the back to the hinged doors on the front of my stand i've only got about eleven inches to play with. most glass aquariums are at least 12" front to back. really the only ones i could use would be 10 or 15 gallon aquariums. most of the rubermaid and other various brands of tubs are more than eleven inches front to back. any suggestions or recommendations? thanks in advance.

 

[nas19320]

Yeah I got the same problem. I wanna build a sump/refuge but have yet to figure out how to fit anything under a standard 55 gal stand. I would also be interested in how one would go about doing this.

 

[gregvabch]

i've been thinking about just building the fuge and getting a nicer hang on skimmer and forgetting about the sump area. i guess i could look around more for plastic containers. i've heard that your refuguim should be about half the size of your tank, which means long and narrow if it's going to fit under a 55g.

 

[cboyfan2020]

it doesnt have to be half the size of your tank to be affective. I am setting up a 40g breeder fuge for my 120 but the 120 is 48x24x24 so I havea better footprint to work with. Have you looked at like a 29 tall ar 20 Long?

 

[hondo]

I have a 4' 50g tank which has the same problem of being way to narrow. what I did was use two 10g glass aquariums. I needed to use two because of the width of the doors this is the only tank I could fit through to get under the stand.
You can either drill them and connect them with PVC or use a U-tube so one flows into the other. I started out with having my tank overflow deliver water to the sump side where my skimmer is located and using a PH to send water to the fuge. But my nitrates were still high so I changed it so the overflow delivered directly to the fuge and the u-tube allows flow to the sump side for skimmer and my return pump (mag 950). After making this change my nitrates fell to zip.
I was always under the impression that for a fuge to be effective you needed really slow flow but a Shark on this board explained in these small closed systems the low flow isn't necessary because your turning the water over so many times per hour. I will say that once my total flow went through the fuge my skimmer waste dropped to near 0 as I probably empty my skimmer cup once every two weeks and it's only partially full at that time where before I was emptying it every four or five days (and my nitrates were always around 30 where now they are 0). A Fuge is much better at removing protiens from the water than any skimmer on the market IMHO.

 

[williamrandel]

here is the design for my sump/refugium. i have an AGA55 rr with a narrow stand. this has worked well for me. I'm not saying that it is a good design but after posting it here and getting a little input for more experienced reefers, it is working for me

 

[nas19320]

Wow those are good ideas. William what did you use to make that tank. Also Hondo do you have a picture of what you did or a diagram. I'm gald to see there is a way to get around the narrow stand problem. I had given up on trying to design a sump/refuge.

 

[williamrandel]

William what did you use to make that tank.

I used 1/4" clear acryllic for the outside and 3/16" for the baffles.
All plumbing is pvc. i also made a lid to help with evaporation. all of my parts I cut with a CNC router that i use at work. It gives me very staight, accurate (+/- .004")part size, and smooth cuts so the parts fit together very well. if you have any more questions, send me an email cgarrison@tclcinc.com

 

[me-n-my-fish]

i used a 20 gal long for my fuge, and sump area...
Now lets see if this pics to come up right...

 

[me-n-my-fish]

nother one

 

[me-n-my-fish]

ya can't really see it, but the divider between the fuge, and sump is right behind that board. Fuge spills into sump area. I did have to build the stand around it tho.

 

[me-n-my-fish]

Oh, ya, that is an old pic when i just set it up. I will post new ones soon. I am buildin a hood for my MH.

 

[cjpaske]

Here is a pic of my 20 gal refuge for the 55 gal tank. works great for me.

 

[cjpaske]

Here is another shot.

 

[gregvabch]

ok, i haven't had a chance to reply in a couple days. a 20 gal or 20H from all glass both appear to be about an inch more than i have to play with from front to back. it looks like it would be a better fit if i just did the 2 ten gallon tanks. my question is, can you drill through that glass? i was under the impression that most tanks were made from "tempered" glass, and drilling was a big no no.

 

[cboyfan2020]

If a tank has tempered glass it is usuaally just the bottom pane. I assume you mean drilling the sides of the 2 10g's right. I would be careful because that glass is really thin and prone to cracking. Just be careful.