Sump or Refugium

mnieder

Member
I have a 75 gallon tank and i am going to get an overflow box. I am wondering the differences between sumps and refugiums and which one i should go with. I already have a new emperor 400 filter and a CPR aero force skimmer that i would like to use for this. Do i still need the filter and does it stay on the tank or go in the sump or refugium. What would i need to buy to set either one up.
 

asharp13

Member
i think a sump is just a box to hold extra water and equiptment like a skimmer and bioballs and other filter media. a refugium is a seperate entity where algae and small organisms like bacterai and pods can grow. the refugium algae also battles for phosphates and other stuff in the water that algae like so that it doesnt grow in ur display. id go witha refugium if u have the room!!!
 

aquaknight

Active Member
A 'sump' is the general term for any type of container holding water below your tank. Sometimes a sump is a wet/dry trickle filter, or an aquarium fully customized for sump duty.
A refugium is any area designated is a 'refuge' for critters, such as copepods/amiphpods, that can get 'used up' in the main tank. A common benefit to a refugium is you can add various types of macro algae, such as caulerpa or chaeto, to help consume excess nutrients in your system. There are a number of different refugiums including in-tank, a Hang-On-Back style, or the most popular, part of a sump dedicated to a refugium.
The most common modern day sump has 3 basic sections (not including perhaps an intake section). An equipment section, obviously where you'd put your heaters, skimmer, etc. A refugium section, just discussed, rubble rock for pod growth, macro algae, a deep-sand-bed perhaps, and finally a return section, where the pump that would bring the water back to the main tank would go.
Your two filters, unfortunately, will not make the most out of a sump setup. In a display tank with adequate live rock, there is no need for a bio-wheel filter, so your Emperor 400 is definitely not needed. The CPR aeroforce skimmer is also a hang-on-back, which again sorry, it not really the best type of skimmer. There is a sacrifice made with a HOB skimmer, you give up some filtering (skimming) power due to the design of the skimmer having to be a HOB. A skimmer designed to be in-sump are many times better then a HOB skimmer.
 
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