Fuge???
- Thread starter yimmy
- Start date
nytrillium
Member
A fuge can cost as much and as little as you want.....
idk how big your tank is but you can get a 20, 29, 30, 55 for cheap. add baffles and a return pump. live rock and macro.... SHAZAM!! fuge.
SO maybe
20-75$ for the tank
10-15$ acrylic for baffles
40-60$ 300 gph pump - 4 feet
If you can trade for some live rock and macro on here... free :cheer:
overall you could do your own Custom designed fuge for under $100. If you want to go fancy and Elaborate you can go for 300. It all depends on how much you want to put into it. Another option is the HOT refugiums. Which are cheap... in comparison. I wouldnt think that these are good for a big tank but for a small (under 40 gallons) tank they woudl be more than good.
You could make it a second display like i am going to do. Ive got a 30 gal DT and im going to do a 20 long display fuge for pod growth.
Whatever you decide...make it the way you want to. Make it functional. And have fun doing it.
idk how big your tank is but you can get a 20, 29, 30, 55 for cheap. add baffles and a return pump. live rock and macro.... SHAZAM!! fuge.
SO maybe
20-75$ for the tank
10-15$ acrylic for baffles
40-60$ 300 gph pump - 4 feet
If you can trade for some live rock and macro on here... free :cheer:
overall you could do your own Custom designed fuge for under $100. If you want to go fancy and Elaborate you can go for 300. It all depends on how much you want to put into it. Another option is the HOT refugiums. Which are cheap... in comparison. I wouldnt think that these are good for a big tank but for a small (under 40 gallons) tank they woudl be more than good.
You could make it a second display like i am going to do. Ive got a 30 gal DT and im going to do a 20 long display fuge for pod growth.
Whatever you decide...make it the way you want to. Make it functional. And have fun doing it.
nytrillium
Member
1. IS your tank drilled with a built in overflow.?
a. if yes, then you are saving alot of money there. You can use that for the supply for the fuge.
b. If no, then you will need to buy a HOB overflow. I havent used one... so i cant really recommend one. There are basically 2 styles. the CPR brand ones that use a "weir" and a "U" tube type overflow. If you search for either on this site you will find many threads with pros and cons of each.
Either way you will need an overflow to get the water from the tank to the sump. The overflow will suck air down the tube with it as well. You need to set up the fuge/sump so that the bubbles are trapped and do not reach your return pump. I know there are many threads here that describe in detail a layout for a sump and many have pictures. do a search for "DIY sump" or "DIY refugium" and you will find all the info you could read.
2. What size is your main tank and how big do you want your fuge?
Basic rule is half your display for a sump/fuge. You dont have to have that much but it is very nice. You will want to get one that will leave you enough room to fit at least a foot on either end for the overflow supply from the tank, and the return chamber to your tank. If you have a skimmer you may also want to make room for that.
If you want to do a display fuge setup, you can partition the front half of the tank for a fuge and three chambers in the back for your supply, return, and skimmer. That is waht i plan on doing....
3. How much flow do you want.
I believe 300 gph is about the max you will want to run... You will need to buy a pump that can pum 300 gph from under the tank up to the display. pumps are rated at 0 feet of head. Say you have 3 feet from the surface of the fuge to the surface of the display. You need a pump that will run 300 gpm at 3 feet. (ex. quiet one 3000 will more than do it, mag 5 would be sufficient)
Other than that all i can tell you is search the forums here... many very helpufl threads including "plumbing 101"
a. if yes, then you are saving alot of money there. You can use that for the supply for the fuge.
b. If no, then you will need to buy a HOB overflow. I havent used one... so i cant really recommend one. There are basically 2 styles. the CPR brand ones that use a "weir" and a "U" tube type overflow. If you search for either on this site you will find many threads with pros and cons of each.
Either way you will need an overflow to get the water from the tank to the sump. The overflow will suck air down the tube with it as well. You need to set up the fuge/sump so that the bubbles are trapped and do not reach your return pump. I know there are many threads here that describe in detail a layout for a sump and many have pictures. do a search for "DIY sump" or "DIY refugium" and you will find all the info you could read.
2. What size is your main tank and how big do you want your fuge?
Basic rule is half your display for a sump/fuge. You dont have to have that much but it is very nice. You will want to get one that will leave you enough room to fit at least a foot on either end for the overflow supply from the tank, and the return chamber to your tank. If you have a skimmer you may also want to make room for that.
If you want to do a display fuge setup, you can partition the front half of the tank for a fuge and three chambers in the back for your supply, return, and skimmer. That is waht i plan on doing....
3. How much flow do you want.
I believe 300 gph is about the max you will want to run... You will need to buy a pump that can pum 300 gph from under the tank up to the display. pumps are rated at 0 feet of head. Say you have 3 feet from the surface of the fuge to the surface of the display. You need a pump that will run 300 gpm at 3 feet. (ex. quiet one 3000 will more than do it, mag 5 would be sufficient)
Other than that all i can tell you is search the forums here... many very helpufl threads including "plumbing 101"
yimmy
Active Member
I'll go into detail on my tank so this might be a long one. It's a 95gal FOWLR tank drilled with built in over flow. In the stand I have a canister, and a UV sterilizer. The tank is drilled. I have 3 holes drilled on the bottom 2 inside the overflow (drain and return.) I'll try to explain how the plumbing works for my tank and I'll show you a pic. So the water goes into the overflow and down the drain into the main pump (Big Little Giant Pump) it goes from the pump to the canister. From the canister I have a "T" half of the water splits to the UV and the other half goes to another T and goes to the to bottom nozzles in the tank. The water from the UV goes out of the overflow through the right nozzle. On the left nozzle there is a Maxijet 1200PH to just break surface tension on the water. Then the middle whole in the tank is plugged so later on I can convert to a reef tank. I'll get a pic later for you
nytrillium
Member
Sounds perfect and you already have a big enough pump for the return....
You could probably go with a 55 under your tank... Just check the dimensions. It would require some planning and some rearranging of your plumbing but since you already have the overflows and the tank drilled you are looking at a pretty painless operation here.
You could probably go with a 55 under your tank... Just check the dimensions. It would require some planning and some rearranging of your plumbing but since you already have the overflows and the tank drilled you are looking at a pretty painless operation here.
yimmy
Active Member
The amount of room I have in there can only fit a fuge which is 1.5ft long and 8in wide...it also has to be under 2feet tall. I don't have a protein skimmer but have been thinking about it. I might just do a HOB skimmer if I don't have enough room. My stand is way to tight to put in a 55gal sump. Could I do something along a 20 gal High. Thanks for all the help.
nytrillium
Member
if thats all the space you have... you wont fit a 20T. In that case you may just be better off doing a hob fuge... you can get them 20" x 5.5" x like 12" i think.... look into hte aquafuge by CPR
nytrillium
Member
yeap...thats what those HOB fuges are. I think the largest one is like 6 gallons.
for a fuge that small it doesnt make sense to do it under the tank as you would need to do a sump to control bubbles... If you keep it at the level of the MT then you can use gravity to return tot he tank and only have a small pump (included with the aquafuge) to supply the fuge.
for a fuge that small it doesnt make sense to do it under the tank as you would need to do a sump to control bubbles... If you keep it at the level of the MT then you can use gravity to return tot he tank and only have a small pump (included with the aquafuge) to supply the fuge.
nytrillium
Member
Honestly though... if your doing it to grow pods for your fish to eat... its not really worth doing the small ones... you really need a big one to produce enough pods. You should consider building or buying a different stand to accomodate a sum/fuge. Or if the one you ahve is filled wiht equipment, look into another way to store the stuff to make room.
yimmy
Active Member
I've been doing a lot of research and you are right. I'm going to probably do a whole sump system but it will be out of the stand. What I would like to do but might be a bit tough on my piggy bank is buy a book shelf or some nice looking furniture with a cabinet below it and that would go right next to my tank. In the cabinet would be the sump&fuge. I would drill holes on the left side of the tank stand and on the right of the furniture so it would plumb through. That would be the ultimate for me to do but I'll probably just put it in a cabinet. I was researching and doing such a small fuge is more of for filtration not to grow stuff to let into your tank. Does it seem possible to do this (just the plumbign) for under 300?
nytrillium
Member
Just plumbing and not another cabinet and such... yes deffinately under 300 is possible. You will probably be doing some DIY but it will be worth it. I am doing mine and its probably going to be around 150 including the new stand by the the time im done. (that doesnt include live rock, macro, or sand though.) Since you already have the return pump that will be more than good thats a saving right there.
I would say though that if you already have overflows in your tank... Use them and place the fuge a few inches lower than the DT. Keep researching and get some more ideas. You can also put it higher than the DT...
I would say though that if you already have overflows in your tank... Use them and place the fuge a few inches lower than the DT. Keep researching and get some more ideas. You can also put it higher than the DT...
trainfever
Active Member
What is under your tank now that you have such a small amount of space?
trainfever
Active Member
Then you should have plenty of space to put a sump/refugium underneath your tank. With a sump/refugium you can get rid of the cannister and there will still be more room for the UV.