Refugium question

B

bprice

New member
I am setting-up a 7' long, 240 gallon aquarium. Underneath, in the stand, I am placing a sump and a refugium (about 55 gallons each - acrylic). I have been researching until I think I know what I want to do - and then I read something else and it seems to make sense also. So my question is this: should my dual overflows go into the sump and get skimmed first, then to the refugium, and then back to the tank OR:
should I split them - one to the skimmer and one to the refugium and then back to the sump for return OR: does it really make any difference and I should just do it whichever way is easiest for me?
I will have a DSB with cheato in the fuge.
Thanks for any help/opinions.

Bruce
 
I would give the cheato the first crack at it . Then the skimmer to take care of what the cheato didn't use then back to the tank .

John
 
It poses a question I was wondering about, would you lose alot of your pod population before it got into your main tank with the skimmer in front of your fuge? my set up is fuge then sump with skimmer, but I think that before the pods got a chance to get sucked up to the system I lose them to the skimmer.
 
Paul,
That is one of the main questions that I had before I do it. I currently have my skimmer after the fuge, but would before it be better? Its possible that the skimmer is taking out a lot of the floating pods.

Bruce
 
As far as nutrient uptake goes, frankly, I don't think it make a difference. I only issue I could see would be with the pods. Its not like your going to end up with a bunch of pods in your skimmer cup but if you do put the skimmer after the fuge that's just one more pump that they have to negotiate thru on the way to your tank.
 
My fuge empties directly into the return portion of my sump. My fuge is 18 chambers of Chaeto, LR, Miracle mud, Emerald crabs, snails and a couple of damsels, and Mangroves. That way the pods only have the one pump to deal with before they become food for my Manderin.
 
Thanks for the input so far. I'm leaning toward splitting the returns and avoiding the skimmer after the fuge. However, I still need to buff it out (the used acrylic tank) and set-up the plumbing before I put the sump/refugium in place. So I probably have at least one more day to decide.

Bruce
 
I would suggest simplicity. 18 chambers sound like a lot of things that could go wrong. Mangroves are cool and I have some but I don't believe they do much for nitrate reduction since they grow so slowly and when the leaves fall off they will add back to the problem. I also did the miracle mud thing and I am not real sure about its added value especially if you do regular water changes and add nutrients. The DSB and Chaeto sound great and you might consider doubling up on that.

One thing that happens in real world application is that each stage is not absolute. By that I mean that the water will flow through each area over and over and each pass will remove some things from the mix. The theory is sound but in reality each stage of the filter will not be able to do 100% of the job it is designed to do. With that in mind I am not clear on the reason for crabs and fish in the sump, I would think they would wipe our some of the bugs and critters that are desirable and might be hard to remove if they became sick or a problem. Keeping things simple will help out when/if problems arise since there will be fewer variables to deal with.

Sounds like you have done your homework, you might take a look at some of the sump/fuges that some of the other folks have and copy what they have proven to work. I know I did.

I would love to re-do mine since I think that the filter sock is doing more harm than good but for now I don’t want to change anything.




2008_reef_Fuge.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12191534#post12191534 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
Those plants look suspicious:D
Click to expand...

Very!


Faz,
I'm not sure if this will help you or not but I would recommend ditching the filter sock. Its not really a benefit (nutrient wise) unless you change it practically every day. I like using them early on in a system until all my pipes get good an slimed up, helps with microbubbles. However, unless your changing them often they won't help with nutrient removal, in fact they become small N03 factories, and they prevent food, pods, and other critters from moving freely about your system. I ditched mine about 6 months in and never looked back.
 
Reefer (How appropriate)

I am pretty good about changing every 2 or 3 days since I have 6 of the things but it is getting harder and harder to sneak past the wife to wash them. Looking back at it now I agree, I added new rock in June and back then they were getting really dirty every day but lately they barely get brown on the 3rd day. I need to get some guts and just pull it out and like you said, don't look back.

That might also be why my pod and mysis population has exploded in the main tank and is greatly reduced in the fuge, even though I will rescue any podds that are stuck in the bag.
Sorry to drift but thats what happens when the plants disappear!

:smokin:

Faz
 
I tried to pick some up but was told it was fresh. I guess there is a difference. If so where can I find some? Sorry Bruce, not to be a thread pirate!! It is sump related though. :)
 
I can bring you a wad of chaeto/caulerpa that is more or less infested. If the conditions are right, they will do very well an a few months. Are you going to the consignment sale Sat?

Yup... still talking about fuges

Faz
 
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