Refugium set questions. Please help.
- Thread starter babyduke
- Start date
FutureBoyGenius
New member
You will have to custom the job to fit your needs. Maybe go to your LFS and tell them what you are wanting to do, and they should help you design it. You need water coming from your display to go to the refugium as well as the skimmer area at the same time.
You can use PVC piping or a soft piping.
And of course a larger refugium would be better but 10 gallons is better than nothing. I would not drill a 10gal though, the glass is too thin and will crack.
Are you wanting to do a DSB in it, will it be primarily for pod breeding, or macro growth?
You can use PVC piping or a soft piping.
And of course a larger refugium would be better but 10 gallons is better than nothing. I would not drill a 10gal though, the glass is too thin and will crack.
Are you wanting to do a DSB in it, will it be primarily for pod breeding, or macro growth?
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
Your best bet would be to check out http://www.melevsreef.com/ for some guidance on how to get started.
You’re using a 10 gallon glass tank so all you really want to do is add partitions and maybe drill a hole for the return. But check out the site and get a better understanding. Good luck
You’re using a 10 gallon glass tank so all you really want to do is add partitions and maybe drill a hole for the return. But check out the site and get a better understanding. Good luck
There are a lot of options, but you will need an inlet from your main tank, separate from the line to your skimmer/sump (the two systems in essence fight each other for nutrients to be removed from the water).
A means to pump the water back to your DT, which is where many options come to play. The pump could sit in the fuge or outside of it, the water from the fuge should go through baffles prevent chaeto from getting back to your DT, some add a filter here, others want pods to get back into the DT.
A means to pump the water back to your DT, which is where many options come to play. The pump could sit in the fuge or outside of it, the water from the fuge should go through baffles prevent chaeto from getting back to your DT, some add a filter here, others want pods to get back into the DT.
Fizz71
FragSwapper
Your biggest challenge is going to be moving water safely back and forth without risking a flood.
If you already have a sump then this tank will HAVE to be drilled and let gravity return the water to the sump or tank with redundant drain points to avoid blockage floods.
I'm not a big fan of 10g tanks as fuges because drilling can be risky. I actually had a fuge going for YEARS that was made from a rubbermaid tub. It wasn't pretty, but it worked and was a no brainer to drill.
I still have it too, I just don't use it anymore. Never flooded in the 3 years it was up.
If you already have a sump then this tank will HAVE to be drilled and let gravity return the water to the sump or tank with redundant drain points to avoid blockage floods.
I'm not a big fan of 10g tanks as fuges because drilling can be risky. I actually had a fuge going for YEARS that was made from a rubbermaid tub. It wasn't pretty, but it worked and was a no brainer to drill.
I still have it too, I just don't use it anymore. Never flooded in the 3 years it was up.
FutureBoyGenius
New member
I know it is tempting to use that 10gal that you have sitting around, but you could save yourself from catastrophe just by spending $20 on any other tank. I was in the same situation as you, but I bumped up to a 15gal tall and the glass is almost twice as thick as the the 10gal that I had sitting around.
The drilling was much easier and then I have a Tee PVC drain splitting the flow to my fuge and skimmer areas. The refugium is slightly elevated above the sump and gravity feeds back into it.
I do not use baffles or filters in the fuge and the cheato stays in just fine.
The drilling was much easier and then I have a Tee PVC drain splitting the flow to my fuge and skimmer areas. The refugium is slightly elevated above the sump and gravity feeds back into it.
I do not use baffles or filters in the fuge and the cheato stays in just fine.
I've google for sumps and refugiums and I still don't get the plumbing part. Does the DT have to be drilled too? My tank is builtin to a wall and I access via a small room behind. So I can basically put anything behind the tank without worrying about it looking bad or messy.
THE ROOK
New member
The tank will either need to be drilled or a hang on overflow box installed. Generally, there is a much less chance of flooding when utilizing a drilled dank but have heard good things about lifereef overflow boxes. May want to look at those if you don't want to break down tank to drill.
The overflow box siphons water from the display & down to a sump. Then a pump in the sump returns the water to the display.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not generally a cheap project but once you add a sump, you'll never look back.
Pros:
-display water level stays constant
-place for heaters & probes not in view
-better protein skimmers can be utilized
-refuge can be added.
Cons:
-possibly flood if something fails
Read up on sumps at Melevs site. Tons of info & designs.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
The overflow box siphons water from the display & down to a sump. Then a pump in the sump returns the water to the display.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not generally a cheap project but once you add a sump, you'll never look back.
Pros:
-display water level stays constant
-place for heaters & probes not in view
-better protein skimmers can be utilized
-refuge can be added.
Cons:
-possibly flood if something fails
Read up on sumps at Melevs site. Tons of info & designs.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
