Please critique and advise on my fuge plans

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by earlybird
Not sure if that will work. Maybe if you have really slow flow with a smaller return. I think most of the water will go over that baffle rather than the water being filtered through the sand. If the flow over that baffle is strong enough it could back up under the sand and reverse the flow causing a sand storm. I dunno.
If it did work you'd probably have to have pretty coarse sand and probably couldn't get away with a DSB.
That's why I was thinking maybe 300-400gph. In the fuge section I would put eggcrate down first on top of some 1/2" spacers. Screen on top of that, then larger grain gravel, then fine sand.

 

[earlybird]

The fine sand would be at the bottom of the gravel in no time don't you think? Naturally in my tank the big stuff always makes its way to the top. If you got the time and money I say try it. This hobby is a lot to do with DIY projects.
I screwed up my fuge big time and now I have to deal with it because I can only access it from the back and it would be a pain to swap out. Maybe you can make one with a small tank or something to see if your theory works. You could scale it down and use one of your powerheads for your return. I smell science project.

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by earlybird
The fine sand would be at the bottom of the gravel in no time don't you think? Naturally in my tank the big stuff always makes its way to the top. If you got the time and money I say try it. This hobby is a lot to do with DIY projects.
I screwed up my fuge big time and now I have to deal with it because I can only access it from the back and it would be a pain to swap out. Maybe you can make one with a small tank or something to see if your theory works. You could scale it down and use one of your powerheads for your return. I smell science project.
The cost for me is only in the return pump. I allready have the skimmer and acrylic is leftovers at work. I think your right about the sand though. And from what I remember crushed coral is a bad idea.
Hmmmm. If i can crush up a bunch of LR somehow.....sounds like alot of hammering.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
Hmmmm. If i can crush up a bunch of LR somehow.....sounds like alot of hammering.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[speeddemonlsr]

so whats the final fuge going to look like?

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by speeddemonlsr

so whats the final fuge going to look like?
Depends on how much LR I get crushed this weekend.

I guess I'll be a Guinea Pig and try something crazy. I think the water thru the substrate might work. Kind of a more extreme version of using LR rubble in a wet-dry instead of bio-balls. If I can get the rock into like 1/8" to 1/4" sizes I will be happy.

 

[speeddemonlsr]

Actually post #13 thats my plans for my fuge/sump. Fuge in the middle flow from right to left. return from dt-potein skimmer-bubble baffe-fuge-bubble baffle return to tank.

 

[stdreb27]

The reason crushed coral is bad is because stuff accumulates there because of the large grain size, So crushing up lr wouldn't be much better. Especially since the point would be to run the water through so as to catch stuff in the water. It is more about the size of the grain than the substance.
I don't use any sort of dsb in my sump, it is bare bottom. But it does build up some crap that I have to clean out.
If that is what your thinking about doing, why not just use bioballs, they will be a heck of alot easier to clean than crushed lr or coral. And would do the same job.

 

[saltn00b]

i think you are looking to do something that acts like a fluidized sand bed filter - which i dont know tons about except that large operations use them in enclosed cylinders and not in open Sump type situatuions. do some research on those first i suggest.

 

[groupergenius]

I think I was wrong in assuming that you had to have LS and LR in a refugium. I was at the best LFS that I know of around here, and he was asking me why would I put sand in the fuge. Just use Chaeto and let it tumble.

Makes it a whole lot easier.

 

[saltn00b]

you could do that or just put a DSB in there, no less amount of work. just dump the cycled sand in there and forget it.

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
you could do that or just put a DSB in there, no less amount of work. just dump the cycled sand in there and forget it.
?????what is DSB?????

 

[sign guy]

Deep Sand Bed
sand and LR are used for 2 things in a fuge first they allow a copod population to grow and eat the detris that falls from the chato. second it adds more boilogical filtration

 

[groupergenius]

Knucklehead (aka GrouperGenius) builds the main box for the fuge, then realizes he can't fit it in the stand from the front.

Needed to be 2" shorter.
However, I can get it in from the back. But what happens if I need to take it out?

Fuge project begins AGAIN next week.

 

[earlybird]

I feel ya. I have a 10g sump under my 29 and the only way in or out is from the rear. Kinda sucks but I must have it.