emperer 400 refugium

[scoobasteve]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone hs ever used the marinelan emperer 400 or 350, or any of the bio wheel filters, as a refugium. I was thinking about adding oe to my 25g as a HOB refugium by taking out the filter media and adding mineral mud on the bottom and macro algae on top of that, and then using a H.O.T magnum for mechanical filtration. If anyone has had experience with either of these let me know. Thanks.

 

[zma21]

I have a tetra whisper 20 and really wish i would of gone with the hagen aquaclear because of the internal size. The emporer is a lot of money to blow, i think for that money you could get an actual hang on back refuge from www.drsfostersmith.com

 

[zma21]

I edit my statement. I got the prices switched up. I recomend a Hagen aquaclear for your refugium due to the upgradable space.

 

[scoobasteve]

Thanks, i really liked the 400 becasue of its extremely high flow rate and its slim design, the aquaclear just sticks out too far, the 400 is longer, but stays closer to the tank so i can push it closer back to the wall. I'm just wondering how much macro i will need for a 25g tank. By the way, ebay has a few emporers for about 30 bucks if anyone is interested.

 

[FLricordia]

I used mine like that for a while on my 20cube. I used one side for the fuge and the other to hold the heater and UV. It is a good size for a small fuge, but I finally went to a sump and separate fuge. The 400 was just too noisy and from time to time the impeller would rattle and chatter driving me nuts.
Wish I hadn't waisted my money on it. But that's part of this hobby I am afraid.

 

[scoobasteve]

Thanks alot for the pics. If i filled both sides with mud and macro, would it be enough for a 25G? My main concern is going to be the cost of drilling the tank and making an overflow box if i decide to go with a seperate fuge, and then there's the cost of the return pump as well If i go with the H.O.T magnum and a 400 as the fuge, i can get over 700 GPH just from those, and add a small powerhead for about 900-1000gph for about 36x turnover. Still though, the look of the seperate fuge i was planning is tempting. I was thinking of using light diffuser to seperate the macro from the rest of the tank, like a false wall, letting water flow through but holding the macro in place. I planned t use mineral mud as the substrate and use some feather dusters and lots of cleaner clams in the mud. I have a an 96w quad oc i was thinkingof lighting it with. Again, the problem would be drilling my display tank and buying an adequate return pump, and then figuring out how to return it into the tank---drilling a return bulkhead, using a spraybar-ect.

 

[scoobasteve]

One other thing, if i put filter pads in the fuge, wouldn't it filter out plankton as well, if always wondered that about filter pads. I want to be able to grow pods and plankton in the fuge but i dont want them being filtered out before they even get into the tank

 

[FLricordia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9264386#post9264386 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scoobasteve
Thanks alot for the pics. If i filled both sides with mud and macro, would it be enough for a 25G? My main concern is going to be the cost of drilling the tank and making an overflow box if i decide to go with a seperate fuge, and then there's the cost of the return pump as well If i go with the H.O.T magnum and a 400 as the fuge, i can get over 700 GPH just from those, and add a small powerhead for about 900-1000gph for about 36x turnover. Still though, the look of the seperate fuge i was planning is tempting. I was thinking of using light diffuser to seperate the macro from the rest of the tank, like a false wall, letting water flow through but holding the macro in place. I planned t use mineral mud as the substrate and use some feather dusters and lots of cleaner clams in the mud. I have a an 96w quad oc i was thinkingof lighting it with. Again, the problem would be drilling my display tank and buying an adequate return pump, and then figuring out how to return it into the tank---drilling a return bulkhead, using a spraybar-ect.

If you were using it just as a fuge you could run it slower. I run my fuge slow so the chaeto has time to work the nutrients out of the water. For a 25gl you don't really need 1000gph. That's a lot and a lot of corals, especially softies aren't going to like that high a flow. I have a 20gl and total for my rics, zoas and shrooms is around 500gph and that is plenty.
96wts is way too much if you mean just for the fuge. If you mean for the fuge and display that would be fine. I use 24wt for a fuge about 5 times the surface area of the Emperor 400 and the chaeto grows like crazy.
The H.O.T. at 250gph and the slowed down 400 fuge for surface agitation and maybe a maxijet 900 would be more than enough for a 25gl.
You should see about having some type of surface skimming though.
I used the carbon filter pads for a day or two a week, then pulled tham. Just to clear the water.

 

[scoobasteve]

thanks. For surface skimming without drilling i thought about putting in an overflow box with a very small pump in the bottom. I would allow water to overflow from the surface and then be pumped back into the bottme of the tank where the H.O.T magnum would filter it out. Thanks for giving me the heads up about te flow rate though. I dont want to overdo it with the turnover rate, i just dont want dead spots
Do you think that the 400 will give me enough room for chaeto? enough chaeto for a 25 at least?

 

[scoobasteve]

I just ordered a current sunpod 150w metal halide with a 14k in it for 70 bucks used on ebay. Just wondering if anyone else has experience with this light and if they needed to suplememt it with actinics. Would this be enough for a 24" tall tank?