Refugium Help.

cam78

cam78

Active Member
First I wanna thank the jerk who even got me looking into these refugiums (Ha, lol, JK). I was content with trying to stock up a 46 bow then this whole subject came up and now I catch myself looking into it. Unreal, the obsession of salt, its sickning.
Anyway my question is this. How can I build a refugium WITHOUT drilling or a hang on? Please post ideas, sites, companies, Whatever you can to help my new addiction.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
Sorry, should have made myself clearer. I mean I don't want to use a hang on either.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
You will need a hang on overflow. The overflow will draw the water from the tank to the refuge which would be placed under the tank.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
What company makes that one you have in the picture? Thanks guys for answering. Everyone is great on this site.
LOL, funny guy.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
The overflow pictured is a CPR. I personally like the U Tube style overflow much better but couldn't find a picture.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY. Sorry not yelling, CAPS lock on. Are these good to use? I assume they are ran off of electricity? Also they will not allow a flood if power goes off right? I will look up these that you posted. The U Tube style is that a brand or is that a design of CPR's?
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
They run off of a siphon... but there is a Airlifter Vacuum Pump that can be hooked up to help prevent siphon breaks. A pump is placed in the sump/refuge under the tank to push water back to the tank. The only way you get a flood is if the siphon is broke when the pump continues to run... it can happen but with proper setup and cleaning it's not common.
The U Tube is a style of overflow... here's a picture of one made by Aquatic Life Systems.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
COOL! Now if I do one of these for my 46 bow is a 10 gallon tank good enough or do you recommend a larger one? OR, do you recommend me not building one and buying one from one of these companies? Currently I am running a Fluval 305 canister which is doing fine. Can I continue to run this with the Refuge?
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
The bigger the better... I think a 10g would be a bit small to fit everything in it but it would work. A 20g works well if there's room. You could buy a per-built one or build your own. I personally have always built my own.
You can still run the canister filter... just make sure you clean it out often.
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
I think Im pretty limited in space underneath this bow cabinet. 12" front to back and 33" from left to right. Height is 28 1/2". So whatever dimention tank I could fit under there I will try. I would like to put my skimmer in there along with my heater. What you think?
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
Does anyone have any recommendateions for a refuge tank company? What is better a premade one or make it myself? If anyone prefers the premade please tell me what comapany. If anyone tells me to make one please post some methods that were on this site. thanks in advance.
 
tomtoro

tomtoro

Member
Originally Posted by CAM78
Does anyone have any recommendateions for a refuge tank company? What is better a premade one or make it myself? If anyone prefers the premade please tell me what comapany. If anyone tells me to make one please post some methods that were on this site. thanks in advance.
Overflow from the front. Notice the screen to keep out fish, shrimp and snails.

This the Overflow from the back down to the sump

This is a basic design sump/refugium. My baffles are 12". Others have better designs, but this works for me:

This is the tube coming from the return section of the sump up to the tank:

Here are the pvc return lines in the tank. I drilled siphon break lines just below the water surface so when the pump was shut off, the tank didn't flood the floor

I use an aqualifter dosing pump to keep the siphon in my cpr cs102. I would've gotten a tube design, but this deal was too good to pass up.
Here's the front of the tank so you don't think I look at all that junk all day.

Hope that helped.
Tom
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
WOW, you know what your doing. Maybe I should just buy the premade ones. That is pretty intense. I appreciate the pictures though, I noticed you have a rather large skimmer. I would be using the Red Sea prism deluxe. Can I use that in the refuge? What my concern is really, how do know what to seperate and how far apart do those dividers go and all that stuff. Should I build one out of a 10 or 15 gallon? I am thinking of getting the CPR overflow.
 
ahmoser

ahmoser

Member
Ok, this might be a stupid question as I am still a newb, but why can't you pump water to the fuge, and then pump it back?
 
cam78

cam78

Active Member
Because the pump from you tank to the refuge. will create a water flow on its own using gravity. Then if the power ges out your pump in your refuge will be powerless and water will continue to run (due to the vacuum) over flowing the fuge. and flooding your floor. Not good if your out for a few hours. :scared:
 
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