sump, fuge, pumps..., aaaagh!!

[tk]

People, I'm not stupid, just vastly uninformed...
Where would I find information on installing a sump on my fully cycled 55? What is the heck is a "fuge," do I need one or is it part of the sump?
Can I just buy a functional sump or do I need to build one?
When I do one of the above, how do I plumb it so I don't flood my basement!?
I'm handy enough, I just don't understand the whole concept. Where would an agua-challenged person such as myself find out all this stuff before I drown? How do I keep from going insane in the process? Drugs, booze or maybe an AK47 and a tower?
You guys are great, I appreciate any help!
TK

 

[tk]

btw, I'm cruising the archives and there is a bunch of stuff there.I still need a printed reference. )

 

[hurt]

A fuge/refugium/refuge what ever you wish to call it, is a place free from predation and as such plumbed separately from your DT. The real purpose of a true fuge is to propagate microorganisms/pods etc. Most typically people really are referring to algae scrubbers or vegatable filters when they say fuge. That is they put macro algae in a separate tank to help absorb nitrates and phosphates as it grows. Typically these tanks are lit on an RDP, (opposite DT lighting) to help prevent pH drops at night. My fuge has a DSB as well. When you harvest the Macro algae you export these nutrients from your tank.
I wouldn't say you absolutely need one, its just another tool we have to make our tanks more successful. I personally wouldn't run my sps tank without one, and I credit most of my success to having a fuge/vegetable scrubber to help keep nutrients low in my tank.
You can buy one, or build one. I'd go with the latter as they are extremely easy to build.
As far as plumbing it so your tank won't overflow, you just multiply your tank dimension as such: length*width*top of overflow teeth to bottom of overflow teeth*(usually this is around 1 inch). After you multiply these three numbers divide by 231. This will give you the approximate gallons that will go into your sump or fuge when the power goes out.
As you are already doing, there are quite a few threads in the achieves that explain how to build one.