what is the difference between a refuge & Sump???
- Thread starter gilpil
- Start date
E
essop3
Guest
Sump hides equipment like skimmers, heaters, grounding probes and adds water volume.
A fuge is an area of lower flow that contains plant life, extra live rock, sand and other such things. It can be used to increase your pod population.
A fuge is an area of lower flow that contains plant life, extra live rock, sand and other such things. It can be used to increase your pod population.
sly
Active Member
A fuge can have several purposes. It can house algae which aid in the water's filtration, provide food for the fish (grow your own), or house baby fish when used as a hatchery. A fuge is like a seperate tank that shares the same water as your main tank.
A sump is also a tank but is mostly used to house devices like protien skimmers, wet/dry filters, and foam mechanical filters.
I have both on my system. I add top-off water to my sump when the level starts dropping. In the mean time, my main tank level stays the same. Because I have a sump, the main tank water level never changes since the tank gets it's water from the sump.
I have mangrove plants and a micro algae scrubber in my fuge. These absorb nitrates and phosphates from the water and make it incredibly clean. The algae is growing in sheets in my fuge because I leave its light on 24 hrs/day. Then I can remove some of the algae and drop it into the main tank for the fish to eat. :happyfish
A sump is also a tank but is mostly used to house devices like protien skimmers, wet/dry filters, and foam mechanical filters.
I have both on my system. I add top-off water to my sump when the level starts dropping. In the mean time, my main tank level stays the same. Because I have a sump, the main tank water level never changes since the tank gets it's water from the sump.
I have mangrove plants and a micro algae scrubber in my fuge. These absorb nitrates and phosphates from the water and make it incredibly clean. The algae is growing in sheets in my fuge because I leave its light on 24 hrs/day. Then I can remove some of the algae and drop it into the main tank for the fish to eat. :happyfish
sly
Active Member
Originally posted by djian
is it easy as well as cost effective to build a fuge? If so, how do you build one and what does it look like?
My fuge is a simple 10gal aquarium that I put under my stand. I teed off the water that comes from my main tank so that some of it goes to my sump and the rest goes to my fuge. Then I have a U shaped PVC tube in the other end of the fuge that allows the water to siphon back into the sump to be returned to the main tank. They can be real cheap, like mine, or can be elaborate like Bang Guy's (I think his is 700gallons and he raises his own fish in it). I don't really plan on my fuge being seen so I didn't invest in aquascaping it. I use mine primarily for algae.
You can use a fuge to house delicate creatures like sea horses and plants. In this case you would want to make it look as good as your main tank. Often times people will set their fuge and their main tank side by side in this case. Really they would be two seperate tanks, one for agressive fish and the other for delicate stuff. The only thing they share is the same water system.
I'll take some pics of my fuge and show you. I just got it back up and running a few weeks ago after I nearly poisoned my tank by using bad silicon. It's just now starting to get its algae growth back.
sly
Active Member
Originally posted by Gilpil
as far as % wise, how big should your fuge/sump be copared to your display tank?
I don't really know what the rule is for filtration. I have a 72 gal tank with a 10 gal fuge and 10 gal sump and it seems to work fine for me.
If you plan on using your fuge for housing delicate creatures instead of relying on it for filtration, then size doesn't matter. It only needs to be big enough to accomidate what you plan on growing.
sly
Active Member
Any silicon that says specifically that it is aquarium grade will work. I made the mistake of using non-aquarium silicon. The problem is that non-aquarium silicon does not fully cure under water and can leach acid into the water. I'll get some pics up later this afternoon.:joy:
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essop3
Guest
Yes you will need to get an overflow or have a drilled tank. If your going to put your fuge under the tank like sly and myself you can even use a big rubbermaid container. Mine is super ugly but you never see it. Another great thing you can do is to make a sump/fuge combo like this picture.