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- Thread starter shyland83
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shyland83
New member
ok so this is my first draft but i'm thinking of getting either a corner or a bowfront probably around 90 gallons. the plumbing and sump will all be in a closet of some sort. Any suggestions or advice are appreciated. from the equipment to the setup. I have no idea what i'm doing so i want to get as much advice as possible. I plan on making the sump and fuge with acrylic
joefish
Premium Member
Two suggestions for you.
1- The overflow from the tank could use a baffle to cut down on turbulence through the refugium.
2- put the mechanical filter after the skimmer . the skimmer should remove the bulk of the waste load . you will save on filter material also .
Good luck with your project,
Joe
1- The overflow from the tank could use a baffle to cut down on turbulence through the refugium.
2- put the mechanical filter after the skimmer . the skimmer should remove the bulk of the waste load . you will save on filter material also .
Good luck with your project,
Joe
Vinny Kreyling
Premium Member
plumbing
plumbing
In general a refugium should NOT be the place for the tank main drain. They are supposed to be a "quiet" place for critters and such to multiply and possibly get into the main display via an overflow into the sump. This is the ideal place for a skimmer though, allowing for the overflow water to be processed first before filtration thereby removing a greater proportion of whatever. Use true union ball valves before & after the return pump and UV making service or replacement easier. It looks like the uv is returning immediately back to the sump reducing flow to the tank. Flow is one of the most important things in a reef tank so you might want to rethink this. I have seen sumps in closets, basements and garages. Leave room to do work on it. Things will go wrong & the time is now to thing ahead. Remember Murphy's law.:eek1:
plumbing
In general a refugium should NOT be the place for the tank main drain. They are supposed to be a "quiet" place for critters and such to multiply and possibly get into the main display via an overflow into the sump. This is the ideal place for a skimmer though, allowing for the overflow water to be processed first before filtration thereby removing a greater proportion of whatever. Use true union ball valves before & after the return pump and UV making service or replacement easier. It looks like the uv is returning immediately back to the sump reducing flow to the tank. Flow is one of the most important things in a reef tank so you might want to rethink this. I have seen sumps in closets, basements and garages. Leave room to do work on it. Things will go wrong & the time is now to thing ahead. Remember Murphy's law.:eek1:
shyland83
New member
thanks for all the input. Vinny, how would i solve the problem of making the fuge more "quiet"? should i just add baffles after the main drain, or are you saying there should be less flow through the refugium? I plan on putting chaeto in the fuge and maybe a deep sand bed i havent decided yet.
shyland83
New member
ok it's gonna take me a little while to change the drawing, but what if i make the main drain dump into the sump, then it goes to the skimmer right away. Then have a small pump moving water up into the fuge then draining back into the sump. I'm probably going to have a closed loop on the tank to increase flow so i'm not worried about losing the flow from the UV sterilizer, otherwise i could give that it's own pump too.
Vinny Kreyling
Premium Member
changes
changes
By quiet I did mean less flow and rather than an extra pump you could splt the return and use a valve control the flow to the fuge.
I am not really a fan of multiple pumps with the exception of on a protein skimmer when needed, I happen to like the recirculation needle wheel types. Remember to think ahead for maintenance and unexpected problems. Think WHAT IF. They are down this road for sure. I speak from experience.
Vinny
changes
By quiet I did mean less flow and rather than an extra pump you could splt the return and use a valve control the flow to the fuge.
I am not really a fan of multiple pumps with the exception of on a protein skimmer when needed, I happen to like the recirculation needle wheel types. Remember to think ahead for maintenance and unexpected problems. Think WHAT IF. They are down this road for sure. I speak from experience.
Vinny
