DIY fuge???

[.357]

What is more important in a fuge? volume or area? I am looking at doing a DIY fuge the thing is, I can only get about 20 gal under my tank, that is including a 20 gal wet/dry sump. The thing is I can go tall and slim or more bottom area. This is for a 125 gal tank. I was planning a DSB, LR and algae for the fuge. Any advice?

 

[broomer5]

Good question .357
I don't really know if one is better than the other .... but I'll toss in some thoughts.
You've got a 125 w/overflow/sump ... so gas exchange is not a huge concern in my opinion. You've got surface area in your display tank for that.
A DSB in the refugium - a slimmer taller vessel may be a little better - maybe ??
A more shallow but larger area vessel would possibly allow more area for lighting/growing caulerpa - maybe ?? The stuff that grows underneath the surface doesn't get as much light as the top layer of macro does. I don't know if this is all that important though - it still grows fine under there.
Either way, you'll be able to run the fuge almost full of saltwater - so that's that's not a big concern either.
I have an 18 gallon rubbermaid fuge, and it seems to work fine on my 75, but I've never experimented with anything else.
Not much help - I know. I would use your best judgement and choose what's easiest to fit and plumb.
Are you going with a glass tank or rubbermaid type of refugium ?

 

[.357]

Broomer, thanks for the reply.
My main goal is water volume. I am going to get the same volume either way. Reading your post I think that the taller option would be better (makes overflowing back into the sump easier.
I was think that I would use acrylic, I really only have one option for size. I don't think that Rubbermaid makes anything that will fit.
I am guessing that my 125 only holds 112 gal. I think I have 7-8 gal in my wet/dry sump. Adding 20 gal would give me a total of maybe 140.

 

[broomer5]

Acrylic would be very nice
Can we see some pics when you get it done ?
We like pics !

 

[.357]

Sure, I am all over the pics I would have posted some already but, the tank is still fresh water. I am having a stand built, as soon as it is done I will make the swap. I will do a before and after pic.

 

[broncofish]

Hey .357 if you need any help let me know.

 

[.357]

Thanks broncofish, I really could use some help building the box. I wont know how the whole thing is going to work until the stand is done. I think it should be about 2-3 weeks. I am heading up to mill some more wood to day. I am building the stand out of a 1000 gallon oak wine tank.

 

[broncofish]

Now that sounds cool. I can get IPS weld-on for acrylic fairly cheap..so let me know, I think I get it for $5 a pint or something similar my plastics guy here in town always hooks me up

 

[rangermonroe]

here is a shot of my acrylic fuge
Tall and deep...make sure you can reach over the top between the bottom of the displayand the fuge.

 

[.357]

rangermonroe, that is a nice looking fuge. Thanks for the pic. I think that you have given me a great idea. I'll cut you in on the profit if I ever sell it
Broncofish, can you get the sheets of Acrylic too? If you could shoot me an email when you have a chance, I would like to give you my contact info.
.357mag@covad.net

 

[.357]

Broncofish, sorry email should be
357mag@covad.net

 

[broncofish]

I will e-mail you tonight from home.

 

[.357]

DVS, thanks for the pics. I like the way your set up works. I have to go under the tank. My stant and canopy are almost 6 feet tall.

 

[.357]

I think I have found a way to get about a 37g fuge under my 125g tank. Is 37 or so gallons a good size or should it be more like 20?

 

[broncofish]

37g is actually fine, it all depends on how much room you have...like bang guy he went with a realy small 900g refugium

 

[.357]

would 14 or 15 gallons be worth the truble? I ran into a problem with the skimmer and space.

 

[rangermonroe]

Bigger is always better IMO. If you use acrylic, you can customise it to suit the space available.
The one in my pic (above) is a 27 gal, made to fit my stand. I couldn't get it to bend around a corner of the stand so I had to shorten it by 3" so It would go in.
Now it only holds, 20 or 22 gallons, but I'm glad that it is as large as it is.
But if all you can do is 15 or 17 than, "Thems the breaks" . I got away with 10g for a while. It allowed me to build up a pod population strong enough to feed a mandarine.

 

[bang guy]

My opinions -
Any size fuge is a bonus.
A large footprint is more useful than a large volume.
I would avoid DSB's in anything with less footprint than a typical 29 gal. If it's smaller then about 1/2" of fine sand is still useful.

 

[.357]

I think I have the size down now. looking at about 18LX14WX26H, would this be enough for a DSB? or just some live rock and algae.

 

[wyldgunz]

Heres a pic of what i did, i built a separate stand that has a flip top lid , so its simple to get to, and i also vented the supply off the overflow since its a backpack type and too many air bubbles were slashing around in the supply compartment.