Flow in Refugium

[FutureBoyGenius]

How much flow is too much in a refugium? Specifically, a barebottom refugium with chaeto.

I am asking because I have a 90gal display with a 20gal sump and I am adding on a 10gal refugium beside of it. I am having trouble figuring out if I should run all of the water down to the sump for skimming and then have it pumped through the refugium and then finally returned to the display.

Would the return be too slow and overflow my refugium and not turnover the water column enough?

Should I split the return and send 50% to the refugium and 50% to the display?

Here is a picture of my sump and the space beside of it where I will install the 10gal refugium. The bioballs are almost all gone now, so please excuse them.

If you have any suggestions on plumbing it would be great too. I plan on having the glass drilled. I do not know where the holes should be though???

 

[EvMiBo]

Flow through a refugium should be minimal, so slow flow is ideal, nice and calm... A refugium benefits from all of the little copepods and creatures coming from the display tank - so skimming it before the refugium isn't the best of ideas in my opinion. If you can, T off your plumbing before your skimmer and send some PVC to your fuge and some to your skimmer, then from the fuge go to your return area. If I were you I'd look for a 20g maybe instead of a 10g for the fuge. Hope that helps - goodluck.

 

[stingythingy45]

^^^
+1

The flow should be around 10 times the refugium size.
So around 100-120 gph would be ideal.

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

My skimmer is in my return area though, and I have no where else to put it. I thought that the diplay tank was supposed to benefit from the pods coming from the refugium, not the other way around?

Should I T off my plumbing before my sump and send 50% to each and then use a seperate return pump for my sump and refugium and I guess plumb them together to be returned?

Would that work?

I do not see a way to fit a 20gal in the space I have.

 

[stingythingy45]

Yes,T off the overflow pipe then drain from the refugium into the return area of the sump.

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

even though it will most likely get skimmed in there? won't that chop up all the pods produced in the refugium?

 

[stingythingy45]

Nah,they'll make t up the pump.
I just halfed my chaeto last night.I have a basement sump/refug.
The fish were having a ball feast on all the pods that got pumped up to the display.

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

I noticed that you only have a 10gal fuge for your 90. Has it made a difference with your nitrates and phospates? Do you regret not going bigger? Do you have a substrate and what macros do you have in there?

 

[stingythingy45]

I could go bigger but I'm happy just lighting the 10 gallon with a 65 watt work lamp.I also have a 70 gallon sump so there's plenty of water volume.I've never registed nitrates,I even thought the test kit was junk and got another,still nothing.My phosphates were tested a few times on a Hanna and it was .07.There's a picture of my set up in my gallery.

 

[smalls383]

Looking at your picture I would design the system differently.....

I would take out the bioballs and move the return line from that section to your skimmer section. This can be done very easily...Then I would use the bioball section as your fuge area which is fed from a T valve coming from your return so you can control the flow.....

Adding more volume to your system with another 10 gallons is great, but I would get those bioballs out of there and a fuge would be perfect there.....IME

 

[stingythingy45]

I couldn't see the picture.
Photobucket must be blocked here.Just a red x.

 

[smalls383]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13046153#post13046153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingythingy45
I couldn't see the picture.
Photobucket must be blocked here.Just a red x.

Here it is from imageshack.....
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/4619/98585147ow0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>

 

[billdogg]

i vote with smalls - lose the bioballs - use LR instead - and the biggest 'fuge you can stuff in there - can't ever go wrong with more volume

 

[stingythingy45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13046232#post13046232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smalls383
Here it is from imageshack.....
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/4619/98585147ow0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>

Thanks,I can see it now.
Yeah,bioballs are kind of being phased out.If that chamber stays full of water.You could put a piece of LR in there,some chaeto and put a light over it.Or put a 10 gallon under there and split the overflow to it.Then flow from there into where the bioballs(used to be) and return.

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

I think I have decided on going with the 10gal tank for the refugium. Like I said there are only 1/3 of the bioballs left and they will be removed in two more weeks. I think I am going to fill the "bioball section" completely with LR.

If I do split the flow from the display to the fuge and the sump, I will gravity feed the water from the fuge back into the the sump. Should I direct it into just the skimmer/return section or should I shoot it down where the LR will be (bioball section). If I do that I will need to take that sponge out, correct? Because it will trap my pods?

I am tired of these nitrates. Seems like water changes are a daily chore and they are still steady at 20ppm. I am trying to get them down so I can load up on a more powerful clean up crew this weekend.

 

[smalls383]

Looking at your design you are going to have to send the fuge water back to the return section that has the skimmer in it....ideally you would want to have a seperate section for the return area.....but next time

Also, a seperate return section could help you control the water level always constant which would make it easier to dial in your skimmer.....but yeah send it back to the return section

I had nitrate problems also and I added a fuge, the largest that I could fit, and grew some chaeto and within 2 weeks I had nitrates at 0 and still are never changed.....

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

so i don't need to send it through the sponge and LR? why not?