20gsump/refugium

[Nu2SW]

I picked up a 20g tank that I am going to convert into a refug/sump. I am going to pick up some acrylic pieces to make it into different chambers.

*question I have is that Can the outside of the Tank be painted Black as too keep more of the light in, Since I do not have room for it under my tank, And when most people leave it under a tank its pretty much pitch black under the stand.

My wife doesnt wanna see the inside of it.

Would that work?

 

[Marc Daniels]

Paint it white, then if it's a lit refugium it will reflect more light back in.

 

[Nu2SW]

kool thanks so ON the lighting how essential is the lighting for the sump tank?

 

[Marc Daniels]

A refugium with algae, it is very important. Just a sump needs to light.

 

[Nu2SW]

ok IM sorry i got a headache, that i didnt understand... my take on it

refug needs algea and the sump portion only needs to be lighted? since its a all in one

 

[Marc Daniels]

Back to your original questions

I picked up a 20g tank that I am going to convert into a refug/sump. I am going to pick up some acrylic pieces to make it into different chambers.

*question I have is that Can the outside of the Tank be painted Black as too keep more of the light in, Since I do not have room for it under my tank

Yes, it can be painted black to help keep the light in. But I would paint it white, because white is more reflective and would be a better utilization of the available light.

refug needs algea and the sump portion only needs to be lighted? since its a all in one

With something as small as 20g, you basically need to decide between either a sump to house your equipment, or a refugium. It you set it up right, you could have room for a small refugium. If the refugium had algae in it, then you need to light it. A sump, with just equipment, water, etc needs no light.

 

[Elite]

Is it a glass tank? It's might be easier to glue glass to glass than acrylic to glass. Any glass store can cut them for you. I think they cost about $5 a piece.

 

[Reefugee]

Just out of curiosity - if the sump/refugium is in your stand - why bother painting it? I would leave at least the front pane unpainted so you can see your water level easier.

And Elite is right. If it's glass - use glass baffles. Use silicon to "glue" them together.


What do you plan on putting in your sump?
Minh

 

[Nu2SW]

hmm well good question... Sand,LR,heater,and some algea or macro?

not really shure, what would you guys recomend?

I was thinking of doing something like this.....
http://www.melevsreef.com/sump.html

Any help or ideas would be great.

Oh and why im gonna paint it is because I dont have an under area on my stand, Its all shelving. So im going to put the 20g on a end table/dresser/stand "something along that line, nice n sturdy" and have it sit next to my tank.

 

[Reefugee]

Are you putting in a skimmer?

If your wife isn't interested in looking at some macro algae, you might want to build a refugium that uses pulsing xenias instead. I heard that xenias are pretty good at nutrient export. A lot of people love watching their xenia (except for when it takes over the tank).

 

[Nu2SW]

Yeah im putting in my bak pak 2 skimmer in it also.

I wanna take everyting out of my main tank and put it in the 20g