Considering a refuge under my 72....

[Krazy]

Bear with this NEWBIE here.... lol

I think I want to put a fuge under my 72gallon ... maybe a 20 gallon under there, my tank is NOT reef-ready...

How much would this cost in total?

What parts would I need ?

I want a trouble free system and it'd be best to do it right the first time...

I probably wont do this for another month or so, but to get a list of the parts I need so I can shop around and piece it together would be great...

and then when the time comes, the install...

 

[jabloomf1230]

You need a pump, an overflow box plumbing supplies, organisms and a light source.

1) Pump. The pump is submerged in the refugium. A Mag 7 or 9 should be big enough. Here's a link from Marine Depot for the 7:

https://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1125

2) If your tank doesn't have a built-in overflow, then you need to buy an overflow box. Amiracle makes a nice box and online vendors like Marine Depot also have a selection of boxes. Here's a website that sells Amiracle products as an example:

http://www.southbroadwaytropicals.com/ItemPages/WetDry.htm

Lifereef also makes a good overflow box:

http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html

Marine Depot sells CPR boxes:

https://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_overflow_boxes_cpr.asp?CartId=


These CPR brand boxes are a little tricky to keep them in working order. They need the companion siphon pump. Don't run them off a powerhead or you might come home one day to find your corals high and dry and all the water from your tank on the floor.

(continued in next post)

 

[jabloomf1230]

(continued)

3) The plumbing. Here's the fun stuff. Everything you need either comes with the overflow box or is readily available at Lowes or Home Depot in the plumbing section. Your need to run one 1 1/4" PVC (the white stuff) line from the pump back up to a corner of the tank. The drain from the overflow goes back into the refugium. You also need a PVC backflow valve (on the inflow line from the pump up to the tank) so that if the power fails, you don't siphon all the water out of tank inflow backwards into the refugium. The last item is a PVC ball valve which you should tee off of the pump outflow. By opening this valve slightly, you can bypass some of the pump outflow directly into the refugium. Why do this, you might ask? This is because the overflow will only siphon at a certain rate and you might be able to exceed this rate with the pump, depending on the pump size. Having the bypass tee allows you to bleed off any excess flow and balance the pump flow to the tank with the overflow outflow back to the refugium. Using two or three union fittings allows you to assemble and disassemble the pipes more easily.

4) Lighting. If you put chaeto or any other macroalgae in the refugium, you need to have a compact fluorescent fixture that will fit a 20 gallon tank. You don't need a very big fixture. You can also put a submerged titanium heater in the refugium and take that ugly heater out of the main tank.

That's a very, very short course on how to do it. There is a real good website that explains how sumps work and most of what is on that site applies to a refugium:

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

Some people like to put a baffle in their refugium in order to maintain high and low flow compartments. The baffle can be made out of a piece of Lexan or cheaper clear plastic sheet and glued in place widthwise across the 20 gallon tank. I wouldn't bother with this, though.

Any other questions, just ask.

 

[scottyc1]

biggest sump you can get under an aga stand is a 20 long and you can only get that in through the top of the stand w/the tank off it. a 29 will fit but you have to take the center brace of the stand out(not a good move imo). a 15 gal. is the biggest you can get through the front doors.

 

[Krazy]

Awesome,

Thanks for the in-depth reply jabloomf1230 and Scottyc1 thanks for the heads-up as you've got the same tank but reef-ready!!!

guess it'll be a 15 gal going in there, will that be good enough though ???

again, thanks for the replies, I got some reading to do !!!

=0)

 

[michaelg]

Get a mag 5 pump, you don't want or need a lot of flow going through the refugium. Make sure you understand how overflows fail and how to prevent it. Some, like the CPR build up air overtime and you need something to suck it out (an airline hooked up to a lifter pump (about $12) or venturi it to a powerhead. The siphon break prevents sucking your tank water into the refuge when power is off to the pump. Home depot has a great daylight power compact outdoor fixture for around $35 I think. Many people like these for refugiums- and they are fairly tolerant of the environment inside a stand.

In warm weather, you can also blow fans on the refugium to help keep the tanks temp down. and you should run your top off their if using an automated system.

 

[scottyc1]

my old tank wasnt rr. buy the amiracle overflow,the one that flows approx. 600-700 gph. a mag 5 is the perfect pump for that box. STAY AWAY from the cpr boxes they are an overflowed tank waiting to happen. heard the lifereefs are good but are way to pricey. if you got a few extra bucks to spend i would reccomend a turboflotor multi 1000 skimmer. it is a real good skimmer for about $225.00 you can set the body outside of the sump with the pump inside the sump(15gallon) and it frees up a ton more room inside, especially for a fuge.

 

[Krazy]

Yeah,

this is all seriously confusing for me... I'm gonna have to find time to study this stuff, and save some $$$

All in all when its said and done, 15 gal tank,mag 5 or mag 7, new skimmer, pvc pipes, how much am I looking at total ?? is there any benefit of having the mag 7 over the mag 5, will I still be using power heads in the tank?? or will the pump provide enough water movement??

very oh so very confusing...

I appericate the posts though !!!!

 

[jaze36]

I have an americal overflow I can sell you, $30 and it's yours, and I through in the flex hose to go with it 36" or 48" I'm not sure. Its like the one in the link that is 69.99.

 

[jabloomf1230]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7481139#post7481139 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Krazy K
Yeah,

this is all seriously confusing for me... I'm gonna have to find time to study this stuff, and save some $$$

Most of the mistakes you can make by adding a sump don't really cost you that much extra money. For example, the rated flow rate of a Mag 5 pump matches up well with the rated outflow of most of the overflow boxes that you would add to a 72 G tank. I just think it's better to go with the bigger Mag pump (like the 7) and then use the teed valve to adjust the flow rate. But that's personal preference. It doesn't matter that much which approach that you take. Both work fine.

The PC lighting isn't that critical either. Even a very small PC fixture will work and the advantage is that it will generate far less heat. Keep in mind that adding the pump and the sump lighting will heat your main tank up more, which is not a good thing in the summer.

Most of the money that I wasted was buying the PVC pipe, adapters and valves. No matter how carefully you sketch plumbing stuff out beforehand, there's always some problem that you didn't expect. I always end up buying more than I need. Besides, the plumbing stuff doesn't cost that much when compared to the other expenses of running a tank.

Most of the fun of owning a reef tank is the tinkering and experimenting. I'm sure everyone who has responded has made mistakes and learned from them. Just don't make the big mistake. The main concept that you should remember is that water flows from high head (pressure) to low head. If you don't plumb things properly, the water will end up on your floor. That's not good for the critters or for the floor.

 

[michaelg]

jabloomf1230
what is a Limologist?
Just curious....

My comments were directed towards the concept of using a sump for a sump or a tank under the tank for a refugium.

Refugiums function far better with less flow than most of us want to run our main returns with...... The critters and plants need a lower flow to absorb waste products, etc.... and it is a more "gentle" environment for the newborn bugs....
I am totally an advocate of making a refugium it's own display. The growth in there is just as incredible and amazing as seeing a coral grow from a frag... In many ways more so, as you are witnessing a complete system (well almost :0 )

 

[jabloomf1230]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7487120#post7487120 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michaelg
jabloomf1230
what is a Limologist?
Just curious....

M

LOL, an oceanographer without the salt. It's someone who studies freshwater systems.

 

[jaze36]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7487147#post7487147 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jabloomf1230
LOL, an oceanographer without the salt. It's someone who studies freshwater systems.

Sounds like a cool job. Where in upstate are you?

Keith, here is what I havefor the $30.

 

[michaelg]

Right on! One of the guys I gave a lot of my fish to, was someone who monitored freshwater life throughout MD... IMO the freshwater systems are our accute monitoring system, and the oceans project...Unfortunately the signs have not been good for the most part on either end.

Is there a safe place to fish and eat your catch in this region?////

 

[jabloomf1230]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7487208#post7487208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jaze36
Sounds like a cool job. Where in upstate are you?

Voorheesville. I work for NYS Dept. Environmental Conservation