How much flow w/ a refugium??

[wastedincome420]

I plan on making my own sump w/ a refugium and atleast a little bit of bio-balls (plan on mostly fish for now maybe reef down the line)also plan on housing my skimmer, probes, heater,etc.
A: I'm looking for plans on a DIY sump that meets the needs I have.
B: What kind of flow does a refugium need to have (a)slow like a trickle feed in and spill out? (b)or more power like a small power head?
C: How big should the refugium be??
PS The sump is for a 105g (5ft) Oceanic w/ matching stand

 

[mr . salty]

The refugium should be as large as you can possibly make it.I have a 10gallon for my 130gallon tank,and am thinking of going to a 20.The flow should be as slow as you can get it.Say 50-75 gph...

 

[wastedincome420]

Thanks Mr.Salty
I was planning on at least a 10g, for my 105g.I dont have much of a concept on flow rates So if I feed the refugium just a tricle feed that should enough?!? Is it safe to feed the refugium the output of a protien skimmer or UV??would the output of my Berlin skimmer be to much??
I've seen some nice DIY sumps w/ refugium that feed the refugium with the flow of tank over flow,(up over one baffle into refugium then over another baffle out of the ref. and into another section of the sump then sucked up by the return pump back into the main tank) that would be too muck flow right????
Mr.Salt, is your tank still a FO?? Should you leave some bio-balls in the sump if not planning a complete reef??
Wastedincome420@aol.com

 

[johnnysalt]

Originally posted by WastedIncome420:
<STRONG>Thanks Mr.Salty
I was planning on at least a 10g, for my 105g.I dont have much of a concept on flow rates So if I feed the refugium just a tricle feed that should enough?!? Is it safe to feed the refugium the output of a protien skimmer or UV?? I've seen some nice DIY sumps w/ refugium that feed the refugium with the flow of tank over flow,(up over one baffle into refugium then over another baffle out of the ref. and into another section of the sump then sucked up by the return pump back into the main tank) that would be too muck flow right???? Should you leave some bio-balls in the sump if not planning a complete reef??</STRONG>
Again, the bigger the refugium, the better. Mine is an isolated section of my diy sump....it's about 18g I assume. The sump is a 30g long tank with skimmer and 1 baffle. I built my first sump from a 10g tank too....I forgot about overflow though (still new)...I have a 100g tank. If you already have an est. on what the gph will be at from your return pump, then that is what is going to be flowing through your refugium - IF the refugium is in the middle of them sump...which is prob too much in your case too. My rio 2100 pumps about 250gph (after I figure "head")...that was too fast from what I've heard here...so I used a different idea! Here's my diagram of my sump with separate refugium. I used plexiglas for the dividers in the sump and a ball valve off the T of the return to regulate the gph of the refugium. I'd skip the bio-balls too. Email me with your thoughts if you want.

 

[nm reef]

I run a 30 gal refugium on my 55 reef and the flow rate is approximately 65-75 gph.........I'd try to stay under 100 gph max..........mine is gravity return though so maybe other type set-ups could go higher flow rate....but for me this has worked very well