External refugium setups plumbed into sump
- Thread starter Reef or Die
- Start date
I don't mean to hijack this thread but what disadvantages would there be if the fuge drained directly into the display?
cordell
New member
I set up my fuge exactly how Poeticlydead describes above. The good thing about using the return pump to the fuge instead of the DT drain is that the DT drain will be having detritus, which you don't really want going into the fuge unless you have a clean up crew in there. If you use the return pump instead, that water has mostly gone through the skimmer to remove the nasties that you don't want settling in your fuge.
Have your fuge drain back into the sump close to your return pump so that the water from the fuge will go straight to the DT without being skimmed again, losing any pods.
Put valves (ball or gate) on both the DT and fuge side of the return pump so you can control both. The fuge is going to be closed a lot more than the DT because you don't want a ton of flow going through there.
Basically, I took a 10g from petco, used a dremel with diamond glass bit and slowly cut the hole out for the bulkhead. Put the tank next to your sump (or wherever it fits) on a stand of some sort that will raise the bulkhead just higher than the top edge of your sump. Use some pipe or hose to run from the bulkhead to your sump near the return pump. Easy peazy...
Sump on left, fuge on right. I use a clear hose for the fuge drain. Fuge feeds from the cross. Don't mind the power filter... that's for my QT
Have your fuge drain back into the sump close to your return pump so that the water from the fuge will go straight to the DT without being skimmed again, losing any pods.
Put valves (ball or gate) on both the DT and fuge side of the return pump so you can control both. The fuge is going to be closed a lot more than the DT because you don't want a ton of flow going through there.
Basically, I took a 10g from petco, used a dremel with diamond glass bit and slowly cut the hole out for the bulkhead. Put the tank next to your sump (or wherever it fits) on a stand of some sort that will raise the bulkhead just higher than the top edge of your sump. Use some pipe or hose to run from the bulkhead to your sump near the return pump. Easy peazy...
Sump on left, fuge on right. I use a clear hose for the fuge drain. Fuge feeds from the cross. Don't mind the power filter... that's for my QT
I have yet to find a disadvantage of this design. My fuge is mainly for pod cultivation to feed my dragonet and corals. I keep a ball of chaeto in a dedicated area of my sump for filtration. Tank water goes through this, then the skimmer, then into the return pump manifold. So i get "clean" water into my display fuge. I get virtually no detritus buildup in the fuge this way. What little that does make it in there is easily consumed by the fauna that live in there. Thereby feeding them and completing the cycle of things. And by the fuge gravity feeding into the display i have more success in getting live pods of all sizes into my display tank without them getting chopped up by a pump impeler. So far it has worked out great. I have two pod depended fishes in my tank that are so fat they look as if they are going to pop!
Salty55, thanks for the info. I was planning a similar setup with my fuge. Besides the extra space needed and actually getting water to the fuge the only disadvantage I could think of was the possibility of macroalgae getting into the display a little easier but the amount of pods making it into the display far out weigh that concern IMO.
As long as invasive species of macro isnt kept that shouldnt be a concern.
Ill try to post some pics of my system tonight. I love seeing other peoples designs myself. I searched forever for ideas when i was planning out my fuge, with little results. Who knows, it may give you some ideas.
As far as getting water to the fuge, that shouldnt be much of a problem. A maxi-jet 1200 in the sump will be MORE than enough flow if you dont have a manifold to tee off from. I MAY have 100gph going to my fuge.
Yeah, the space required for a display type fuge is the one downfall i didnt think to mention. That is the one thing that held me up on building mine for a long time. I just didnt know if it would be esthetically pleasing in a small living room like mine.
Ill try to post some pics of my system tonight. I love seeing other peoples designs myself. I searched forever for ideas when i was planning out my fuge, with little results. Who knows, it may give you some ideas.
As far as getting water to the fuge, that shouldnt be much of a problem. A maxi-jet 1200 in the sump will be MORE than enough flow if you dont have a manifold to tee off from. I MAY have 100gph going to my fuge.
Yeah, the space required for a display type fuge is the one downfall i didnt think to mention. That is the one thing that held me up on building mine for a long time. I just didnt know if it would be esthetically pleasing in a small living room like mine.
Last edited:
Here's the pics that I promised. The project isn't anywhere near finished. It looks pretty baren in the pics. but there are some feather dusters, a coco worm, gracilaria, and a gorgonian in there. there are several Macro's on my wish list. They are all out of season I guess because nobody ever has any in stock.
A little closer view of the fuge itself. Here you can notice my DIY glass overflow box. FYI, I also painted the left side of the refugium so I wouldn't get any light bleed over from the main tank and vise versa.
And this is the overflow of the fuge going into the display tank.
A little closer view of the fuge itself. Here you can notice my DIY glass overflow box. FYI, I also painted the left side of the refugium so I wouldn't get any light bleed over from the main tank and vise versa.
And this is the overflow of the fuge going into the display tank.
Reef or Die
New member
Wow. That look awesome! Exactly what I was looking for!
Question. What is the T for on the line from fuge to display tank? Also does your return feed the fuge and the return to the display tank? If so which pump do you use?
Thx
Question. What is the T for on the line from fuge to display tank? Also does your return feed the fuge and the return to the display tank? If so which pump do you use?
Thx
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
The tee is there to keep the drain from creating a siphon which will cause it to make slurping noises and a flushing effect. It probably wasnt really needed with such a low flow rate, but i didnt want to take any chances and have to cut and add one after everything was cured and running.
Yes, they both use the same pump. It is plumbed into a return manifold. Its currently an old mag 9.5. It was set up for a panworld 50pxx external pump. It died after only two months in service. Fyi, steer clear of those pumps. Their customer service sucks! They refused to warranty the pump, They will not communicate with you, and they wont even send your pump back after refusal to warranty a brand new pump that supposedly has a three year warranty.
The tee is there to keep the drain from creating a siphon which will cause it to make slurping noises and a flushing effect. It probably wasnt really needed with such a low flow rate, but i didnt want to take any chances and have to cut and add one after everything was cured and running.
Yes, they both use the same pump. It is plumbed into a return manifold. Its currently an old mag 9.5. It was set up for a panworld 50pxx external pump. It died after only two months in service. Fyi, steer clear of those pumps. Their customer service sucks! They refused to warranty the pump, They will not communicate with you, and they wont even send your pump back after refusal to warranty a brand new pump that supposedly has a three year warranty.
Last edited:
Going to try to revive this old thread. I have a smaller sump without room for an internal fuge, so I am going to rig an external one using a 10g glass tank I have. My plan is to run a pump from my final sump chamber, to my reactor, and have my reactor drain into the fuge. Then I will have a 1" bulkhead gravity feed back into that final chamber (return right next to my return pumps). Think it will work? This is my first tank, ever.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
swiftvision
New member
It will work but you will have to raise your 10 gallon to make it over the top of the sump. You will also get drain noise (gurgalling). How do I know? I have the same setup but I tee my return to return a portion to the fuge then the fuge overflows via a 1" bulkhead into the center chamber right before the bubble trap and the output of the skimmer. Will take pic tonight.
No it's actually an Aqueon 75g. And for what it's worth, the ends were tempered (learned that hard way)! Had a do over the weekend after this photo was taken.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What's the small chamber on the left? It looks like water will just stagnate in there.
No, that's where I plumbed my drains to, it has the highest flow in the sump. Drains plumbed to ~4" from bottoms of first (left) chamber, overflows to filter socks, then to skimmer compartment, goes through first bubble trap (where my heater is) to my fuge, second bubble trap to final (right) chamber where my pumps are. Here it is plumbed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
