Eshopps 3rd Gen Refugium vs. Trigger Crystal Sump/Refugium

[reef208]

Need some help deciding on a sump/refugium for my new 55 gallon reef build. Which one do you guys think is better between these two sump/refugiums? I'm leaning more towards the Trigger because I'm not really digging some of the changes made to the 3rd generation Eshopps refugium. I prefer the drain=>skimmer=>refugium=>return pump process flow vs. the 3rd generations split flow (half the water goes to the refugium, half to the skimmer, and then they meet in the return pump area). Also, with the Eshopps refugium, the refugium area is smaller, you can't really utilize the drain area for anything besides the drain/filter socks, and the return pump area is tiny.

Any thoughts? Is there something great about the design of the Eshopps 3rd generation that I'm missing which would make it better than the trigger?

Thanks.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I use a Ruby30S and love the build quality and configuration. The only recommendation I would make is buy the biggest sump you can fit under your stand.

 

[j tavares]

check out emerald sump from triigger, nice setup.

 

[pigskin018]

I got the eshopps 36 fuge 3rd Gen and it seems pretty awesome. In the end it all depends on what you plan on doing

If you want a few things in return section then yeah it is kinda tight. But there is a ton of room in skimmer area for multiple skimmers/reactors etc.

As for the refugium are it's more of a slow fill there so if your hoping for a lot of flow you'll be sad.

But from what I can tell you don't need much cheato to keep nutrients low so I'd rather have more skimmer space for other stuff than wasted space for cheato I don't need.

Again it's all in what your goal is but overall it's pretty solid. And a bit cheaper than similar size triggers.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

check out emerald sump from triigger, nice setup.

Wow, those are nice. I definitely would have gone with one of those over my Ruby. The adjustable water height is key for skimmers so you don't have to bother with a stand.

 

[reef208]

Perhaps I'll regret it later, but since I was offered a really good deal on the Eshopps 3rd gen R-200, I'll be the guinea pig and try it out. I'm still a little concerned about the flow through the refugium as I don't want it to become a stagnant cyanobacteria factory, but that's fixable with a small powerhead at least worst case. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[hibb304]

I was looking into the same two sumps. Keeps us updated on the Eshopps gen 3

 

[para57]

Any updates on this stuff? I'm interested as well!