Newby needs some advice about a refugium

[GunRunner64]

Hi,

I'm wondering if a 10 gallon refugium is big enough for a 55g reef/fish DT. I currently have 2 clowns, 2 anemone, and 5 different kinds of small corals. The reason I'm asking about a 10 gal. is because a 20g will not fit inside the cabinet that I have. Thanks for any advice.

 

[mcgyvr]

bigger the better..

My opinion... is don't waste your time with 10 gallons.. Its simply not worth it..
The juice isn't worth the squeeze..

IMO.. A 20G long is the smallest sump I would ever want unless I was doing a nano tank..

 

[jacob.morgan78]

You asked about a refugium, did you mean sump? A lot of times, people will have section of their sump for a refugium and the rest baffled off for equipment and whatnot. If it's purely for a fuge, then yes it's enough. If its for a sump, the big factor is how much water will come back down after the return pump is off. If it's not big enough, you'll have a flood!

HTH

 

[Sk8r]

A 10 gallon sump can hold the equipment you need to run the 50, but you won't have room for a fuge in it, really. You can put some critters in it (like crabs) that might harm the dt, but not really a fuge.

 

[Buddy55]

What about the fact that a main pump power off could flood your floor. My 20l on my old 55 barely cut it. There are some things and planning you can do however to minimize I suppose.

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[SeaCucumberFan]

I think you mean a sump, usually, there is a part of the sump to house things that will harm the display tank (e.g. Starfish, Stone crab), and some people call it a fuge, but it's not really a fuge. It still acts like a fuge though (e.g. You can put some macroalgae there to reduce nitrates.)

 

[GunRunner64]

That's kinda what I was thinking. I was afraid that it wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I'm thinking to building a new tank stand with a slide out bottom shelf for easy of maintenance anyway. Thank for the advice everyone.

 

[GunRunner64]

What about the fact that a main pump power off could flood your floor. My 20l on my old 55 barely cut it. There are some things and planning you can do however to minimize I suppose.

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I've read about flooding issue. I was thinking of using a siphon inflow line to feed the refugium. I'm thinking of experimenting with the water levels in the DT and refugium, figure out where to right spot is on the siphon line is and drill a hole in it to break the siphon just before fuge overflows. I'm not going with the 10 gal tho. If you were have issues with a 20, then a 10 is a waste of time. Thanks

 

[Ican]

I have a 10 gallon refugium on my 46 gallon tank, and it is literally the only filtration my tank gets other than a DIY Protein skimmer made from a piece of PVC and a skimmer cup that sits in the inflow side of the fuge. My middle section is the refugium area, which holds about 2" of fuge mud, another 1" of sand on top, and is populated with live rock rubble, chaeto, and tons of pods of all sorts. The third section is the return, which has a 650GPH pond pump throwing water back up to the tank. My only problem is evaporation, as the return side of the fuge gets low enough for the pump to suck air after only about a gallon of water evaporates from the DT.

Not to say that 10g is enough for your 55g, but it can work if you use the right equipment and don't have the space for something bigger. (I can't physically fit a 20L under my 46g tank, so 10g was the only option for me.)