setting up a refugium please help!

[Deranged-Jester]

howdy all,
im setting up a 20h saltwater tank. i was going to use a fluval 105 and take out the media and run phos media, and pipe in a 9w uv sterilizer. but all i hear is negative things about the canisters on saltwater. so instead i am going to drill the tank and pipe in a refugium. i was thinking a 15g H because thats all that will fit under the tank. i already have the diamond holesaw bit for a 3/4" bulkhead from previous adventures. so here inlies the question. how much flow should i have running through the refugium? 3-5x tank volume? also what type of lighting? CF or will the screw in bulbs and a metal reflecter be enough?

 

[Deranged-Jester]

anyone?

 

[supertech3]

use a daylight bulb color temp 6500k for good growth

 

[Deranged-Jester]

i read somewhere that you should use a 24 hour light cycle on refugium....i have kept planted tanks before and thats a big no no. is the 24 hour light cycle so there is no ph / oxygen drop or any algae die off?

 

[Deranged-Jester]

also would you suggest a mag 2 or 3 for the return line?

 

[salty55]

the fuge should have just enough flow to not be a stagnant body of water. if your flow is high then you'll just sweep out all of you critters growing in there, along with any algae's that are in there.

 

[Deranged-Jester]

so what would you guys recommend?

 

[poppin_fresh]

I would (and do) keep the flow slow through the 'fuge. A gentle tumbling flow will keep macros fed and happy. It will also keep pods from being unhappy. I would run the lighting on an opposite scheme from the main lighting.

As far as which pump, it will depend a little on the plumbing set up. There is a head loss calculator on the main Reefcentral page. It will tell you what flow to expect, based on your plumbing length and outputs, etc.

 

[supertech3]

I run chaetomorph and you do not need a light cycle of 24/7 it does not trun sexual like the caluerpa does that is a big plus you should run your flow at a slow rate this depends on the head pressure (amount of flow loss due to the height and fittings used) Do you have the mesurements for height and the number and type of fittings that you will be using?

 

[Deranged-Jester]

it will have roughly 4 ft of head pressure. 1 union check valve and 1 90 degree to get the water back in the tank. i will be using locline also to direct the flow.

 

[supertech3]

IMO go with the mag 3 the mag 2 will be under 75g per hr to slow

 

[Deranged-Jester]

can you send a link to that calc?

 

[poppin_fresh]

Its on the main page of Reefcentral on the left hand side. Its called "headloss calculator"