built in refugium thoughts????

[mattwils71]

i was thinking the other day about how I'm going to go about plumbing my aquarium and all that other hassle and the thought came to me

is it possible to have a refugium built in to the tank?? what i mean buy this is a back filter with compartments for protein skimmer uv steriliser calcium reactor, filter media and a refugium along with a return pump

has anyone out there done this ??? if so pls comment what you did and how you did it

I'm thinking of getting some acrylic silicone it up leave slits in for water to get in and threw the compartments and then a pump to pump it back into the aquarium??

 

[dave.m]

There are several smaller all-in-one tanks available commercially but once you get into the larger tanks it is more custom-built. See kinlayan's thread for a unique way of splitting out areas of the tank, but his was for keeping certain fish and corals away from each other.

Building everything into one tank is what I would consider small-tank thinking. Nothing personal. When you get into big tanks, the goal is usually to maximize display area. If you can afford a 180+ gallon tank you can afford to look at other options like remote sumps, fish rooms, etc. Just my opinion, of course. That doesn't mean you can't have some species of algae in the display tank. Some people are successful with this.

Dave.M

 

[ca1ore]

I would absolutely not steal space from my display for something that can be more easily located either in or adjacent to the sump. Display real estate is just too valuable. My favorite setup was one I ran back in the early 1990s with a 300 main display and a 180 separate fuge that overflowed into the display. No gauntlet for pods to navigate. It was the only time I felt that my system was productive enough to not feed as frequently. And, BTW, a 180 fuge can grow a ----- load of chaeto!!

 

[ilikefish34]

I definitely prefer ca1ore's method of having the refugium siphon into the DT rather than by the return pump, but I don't have that option. For my upcoming 210, I had a box fabricated to mirror the overflow box with holes drilled into it and it has part of the return diverted to feed it. This allows for pods to directly enter the DT from the holes. Still, there is a large section of the 75 sump that is also dedicated to a fuge. As I alluded to, the fuge appears as the overflow box does and the benefits, I believe, will out way the little space that it takes up. If you have the ability, I would forego this method in favor of the fuge overflowing into the DT. Also, depending on your set-up and options, there are hang-on-the-back refugiums that you can buy that overflow into your tank as well.

Good Luck
Mike

 

[mattwils71]

My tank volume is only 150 litres what is your suggestion on what I should do bearing in mind I'm on a tight budget

 

[ilikefish34]

I would think that a 1.25" drain line would do it, however, rating something like that is not my area of expertise. Most people around here (Va. Beach, VA) will drill a tank for $15-25 and the bulkhead would be about $15 or less. Sometimes the 1.25 can be difficult to find and you could go with the 1.5". Either way, I would put a gate valve on there so that you can adjust for air to make it quieter. The main cost when doing this, is if you get an overflow box fabricated to fit your aquarium and can run about $50 but you can get a couple dollar strainer and call it a day if it fits the look you are going for. Of course, everything is cheaper if you are a DYI kind of person. I would check out Bulk Reef Supply for some of your plumbing needs... if you make the purchases local, pay close attention to how much flow the gate valve will allow when fully open. The 1.25" valves I found at a local hard ware store barely had a half inch opening on the inside whereas the 1.25" valves at BRS open 1.25".

If people don't chime in here in the next day or so to help out with the drain size, then you could start a new thread. Just be specific... what size is your return pump, what you plan on having in the aquarium (mixed reef, sps reef, fish only, etc.), how much flow you plan on supplementing with power heads and anything else you can think of that would be unique to your aquarium.

 

[dave.m]

150 litres is only 39 US gallons. Is that your display tank or the tank you want to use as a refugium? Either way, I think you are looking at too small a tank to be considering refugiums unless you get a hang-on-back refugium as suggested above by Mike (ilikefish34).

Dave.M

 

[mattwils71]

Display tank and yeh I was wondering that :L and sorry I'm in the uk and bul reef supply is american u guys have the best stuff