Refugium Question!

[skeletoncowboy]

I am thinking of possibly adding a refugium to one of my tanks i want to eventually become a reef tank...its a 20g long tank. my question is this...do you think a 10g refugium would be a worth while addition to a 20g soon-to-be reef tank?? or are refugiums only truly worth it to add to a larger size tank?

 

[trigger11]

My opinion would be that a refugium is always a good idea if you can make it work with space requirements and such. The refugium allows for extra water volume, will help keep nitrates down, and allow a place for pods to flourish. If you decide to go with the refugium try to add some LR or LR rubble. Extra biological filtration is always a good thing.

 

[essop3]

I agree 100%

 

[rs1831]

I've been thinking about adding a refugium as well. What would be a good way to add one to this kind of set-up?

 

[skeletoncowboy]

this is how i'm planning on setting it up....the 10g fuge will be placed directly next to my main tank. and i'm thinking i'll get 2 of the same exact water pumps so its the exact amount of water output going in and going out for each tank. 1 thats sending water into the fuge. and 1 in the fuge sending water back into the DT. sounds good in theory but i'm sure it will take some tweaking to get it going perfect. since this is only a 20g, i have no sump. and i would imagine this is the best way to do it without using the kind thats built into a sump? any ideas would be helpful!

 

[rs1831]

It does sound good in theory. What are you going to do about lighting? Are you going to light on opposing light schedules?

 

[skeletoncowboy]

i was just planning on using the normal lighting as any other tank. i havent heard the idea of lights on an opposing schedules? where'd you hear that?

 

[rs1831]

I believe that its for pH stability. But I've also heard that a lot of people just use the same lighting schedule as their display tank.

 

[skeletoncowboy]

thats an interesting concept actually cause the pH goes down during the night...makes sense. but i think that if i did that it would be kinda annoying since the fuge will be right up against the DT so the light might affect the fish at night.(not to mention my sleeping as well!) but good theory. if i had the fuge built under the DT in a stand where you wouldnt see it i would definately try it.

 

[rs1831]

I have the same situation for my smaller tank. Keep me updated if and when you start your refugium.
Good luck.

 

[fallinapart]

Originally Posted by SkeletonCowboy
this is how i'm planning on setting it up....the 10g fuge will be placed directly next to my main tank. and i'm thinking i'll get 2 of the same exact water pumps so its the exact amount of water output going in and going out for each tank. 1 thats sending water into the fuge. and 1 in the fuge sending water back into the DT. sounds good in theory but i'm sure it will take some tweaking to get it going perfect. since this is only a 20g, i have no sump. and i would imagine this is the best way to do it without using the kind thats built into a sump? any ideas would be helpful!
I'm not an expert on pumps, but reserching for my own 10gal fuge, I read that 2 pumps never pump exactly the same amount of water and eventually one would pump a little more than the other. I set my fuge about 30 inches above my DT and drilled a hole in the side and use a gravity drop to get the water back into the DT after pumping it UP to the fuge where I have located my HOB skimmer, Heater, & HOB pump filter (without the filters, I just put some charcol in there run the water through that and into the fuge). I also just have a Plant Growth bulb from Home Depot in a regular 10gal light fixture to help the macroalge grow.
Norman

 

[rs1831]

Originally Posted by fallinapart
I'm not an expert on pumps, but reserching for my own 10gal fuge, I read that 2 pumps never pump exactly the same amount of water and eventually one would pump a little more than the other. I set my fuge about 30 inches above my DT and drilled a hole in the side and use a gravity drop to get the water back into the DT after pumping it UP to the fuge where I have located my HOB skimmer, Heater, & HOB pump filter (without the filters, I just put some charcol in there run the water through that and into the fuge). I also just have a Plant Growth bulb from Home Depot in a regular 10gal light fixture to help the macroalge grow.
Norman
Could you provide a picture? Thanks.

 

[skeletoncowboy]

appreciated, and nice idea. but in my situation and from where my tank is already situated, i'm not sure if i would want to do it that way. but who knows! your idea did get me thinking though...since the tank is smaller, it will be shorter therefore making it easy to make a syphon down from the DT into the fuge. then just have a pump in the fuge putting it back up to the DT.

 

[trigger11]

Yes, I believe they make a smaller overflow - U-Tube style syphon you could use. I am not a nano expert so I have never seen one in person. I definitely would not go with the 2 pump idea. They will never pump at the same rate and one of the tanks will end up overflowing. The main thing you will want to look out for is to have your syphon drain be the same size that you are pumping back to the tank with. If your syphon tube is smaller than what your pump is doing then you will not get full capacity from the pump and you will have to throttle it down.