sump/refugium question (constintly confused)

[kware]

I'm still not sure what the exact function and differences between a sump and a refugium are. I know you can put lights and liverock in a refugium,(don't know why) and sumps are for cleaning purposes. How do you have a sump with a glass tank with no overflow in the corner . If anybody can describe these two things in detale it would seriously help.
I just discovered this website and think it's great. It's like having a bunch of marine biologist on call
thanks guys!

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

http://www.melevsreef.com/sump.html

 

[killagoby]

Sump- Gives you extra volume of water and a place to contain your goodies. Ex. skimmer, heater, pumps.

Refugium- May contain all, one, or a combination of these. Deep sand bed (for critters and denitratification) Algae (for keeping the Ph stable and converting toxins in the water) Live rock (more filtration), pods for food, worms, ect.

If you don't have a reef ready tank with a built in overflow you need to buy a HOB overflow. CPR makes them. I prefer a refugium with a DSB, LR, and algae. I run my lights 24/7 so the algae does not go sexual and the Ph stays stable at night.

 

[kware]

is there anything in this hobby that's cheap and easy!

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

cheap not really, but easy depending how how you look at things

 

[kware]

thanks guys

 

[uscharalph]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11388649#post11388649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kware
is there anything in this hobby that's cheap and easy!

LOL!!!

 

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11388649#post11388649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kware
is there anything in this hobby that's cheap and easy!

how bout this???
not pertty but its very versatile, effective and practical!... not to mention the only thing that will fit into the space i have to work with.

cost maybe 12bucks and some change for sump/fuge
fuge lite was 20 bulb/fixture and yet very effective
few dollars here there for misc items - then it was up and running!

if your tank is not drilled
the most expensive thing might be to get a hob overflow so you can get a sump installed... but the sump doesnt have to be expensive as it does practical/effective

search around this site
there are a lot of inexpensive options for setting up a system... i am impressed w/ many of the ideas that so many come up w/ here on RC... might take a loook at diy forum for more ideas etc


regards

 

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11388649#post11388649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kware
is there anything in this hobby that's cheap and easy!

This hobby is about as cheap as it is quick.

Patience and willingness to learn a few DIY projects can save lot's of money.

 

[Sk8r]

Water falls down a hose by gravity from your main tank, runs through sump, meets skimmer, heater, autotopoff, and possibly refugium-area, then, having been cleaned, heated, salinity-balanced, and possibly carrying some nice fat copepods, is sucked up by the return pump and lifted back to your tank.

Cycle repeats endlessly.

 

[Bandsaw]

WarrenAmy&Maddy, nice setup. I was looking at using those rubbermaid containers for my fuge when I was in the planning stage but could not get an answer from rubbermaid on any risk of chemical leaching. Have you had any problems?

I ended up picking up a 20g tall glass tank for $10 and had the tank drilled and am using that for my fuge.

kware, another nice thing about a sump is you can move the sump to another room so you can keep the noise generating equipment out of the living room and keep the peace with your better half

 

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11390397#post11390397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bandsaw
WarrenAmy&Maddy, nice setup. I was looking at using those rubbermaid containers for my fuge when I was in the planning stage but could not get an answer from rubbermaid on any risk of chemical leaching. Have you had any problems?

I ended up picking up a 20g tall glass tank for $10 and had the tank drilled and am using that for my fuge.

kware, another nice thing about a sump is you can move the sump to another room so you can keep the noise generating equipment out of the living room and keep the peace with your better half

chemical leaching?
not that i am aware of... iow everything appears atleast to be thriving... had read somewhere online/RC that the plastic in these particular containers was 'supposed to be' safe... seems to be a lot of folks using them as well either as sumps or fuges/both...

did you use your 20 as dedicated fuge or sump/fuge combo?

luckily re noise
about all that is heard from my system is a very fine feint trickle of water (no vibrations or pumps etc)... it sits in the living room and is very pleasant to hear.

the fuge pictured above
is actually the 2d fuge on this system... its kept on 24hour liting... mainly to help ph - the chaeto in the above pic now fills up that bin

there is another 50gal display fuge
sitting under main... full of more chaeto, lots of xenia frags, gsp, = all for nutrient export... then various other zoanthids, polyps etc (piece of this piece of that)... 90% of water in system flows thru this fuge via pump from skimmer stage... it then overflows into the return/fuge in the back (shown in pic above)

 

[scouncil]

I'm switching from a 100gal reef tank with W/D to a 220gal that I want to use a refugium with. How big does the refugium need to be? I'm putting it below the tank in the stand and I've looked at Melev's reef site, but am unsure of how big to make each section? I'm emailing Marc too, but thought I would post here.

(and these threads get lost in all the postings, I'm new and sometimes can't find the posts, so PM me if you have fab suggestions or post the link back to this thread in you PM- sorry!)
Susan

 

[Bandsaw]

My fuge is seperate from the sump. These pictures are kind of old now. I really should take some new pictures for posting.

scouncil, I would say the bigger the better with at least 20% of your total water volume dedicated to a fuge.

 

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11390843#post11390843 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scouncil
I'm switching from a 100gal reef tank with W/D to a 220gal that I want to use a refugium with. How big does the refugium need to be? I'm putting it below the tank in the stand and I've looked at Melev's reef site, but am unsure of how big to make each section? I'm emailing Marc too, but thought I would post here.

(and these threads get lost in all the postings, I'm new and sometimes can't find the posts, so PM me if you have fab suggestions or post the link back to this thread in you PM- sorry!)
Susan

susan
click on MY RC at the top of the page - it will show you all the threads (postings) you have posted on or have subsribed to... a 'thread' can be subscribed to at the very bottom after all the postings... there will be a thing to click on that says 'subscribe to this thread' - when you do this it will show up when you click on MY RC.

regards

 

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11390843#post11390843 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scouncil
I'm switching from a 100gal reef tank with W/D to a 220gal that I want to use a refugium with. How big does the refugium need to be? I'm putting it below the tank in the stand and I've looked at Melev's reef site, but am unsure of how big to make each section? I'm emailing Marc too, but thought I would post here.

(and these threads get lost in all the postings, I'm new and sometimes can't find the posts, so PM me if you have fab suggestions or post the link back to this thread in you PM- sorry!)
Susan

susan i would take your old 100
and convert it into your new fuge!...

when/if we upgrade
planning on going to 210 then using either a 75 that is sitting in our garage or purchasing a 100 as a dedicated fuge/2d viewing tank... then having a custom stand made to accomdate the fuge below main tank in the same was as shown in the above pics i posted...

 

[K' Family Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11390927#post11390927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bandsaw
My fuge is seperate from the sump. These pictures are kind of old now. I really should take some new pictures for posting.

scouncil, I would say the bigger the better with at least 20% of your total water volume dedicated to a fuge.

looks great!
you're lucky to have a dedicated fish room in your house to put everything!...

thought about it but only option is to go into the garage -
but already have difficult enough time keeping temps down in the summer - temps get up to 110-120 in the desert during summer mos! (garage is incredibly hot during these mos too)

regards

 

[scouncil]

So the fuge needs to be about 45 gallons and I guess that I can have a common area for the return pump to be in.

Can I put a first section (with skimmer) that flows into the fuge and then into a return area (in sequence), or do you think that this will put too much flow through the fuge and I need to have a separate skimmer area with higher flow (though not higher volume than the fuge- I won't have enough room) with a fuge on the opposite side that drains into a common area like Marc's system here- http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/e....melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html?

 

[scouncil]

OK, cycling back to the top- I need an answer- I've looked into making a refugium out of acrylic (83 gal- 1 sheet of acrylic $223), but I can purchase a 75 gal glass tank from my LFS for $199.

Can I make the refugium be 35 gals? Is that enough? I know the bigger the better, I'm just not sure that i can divide the 75 gal up into 3 larger areas. I know the skimmer area, just needs to fit the skimmer....

 

[Bandsaw]

scouncil, 35g are fine. It's better than nothing. I started out with a 4 gal fuge.

The flow through your sump should only be as fast as what can be processed by your skimmer and fuge. Else wise your will be returning unprocessed water back to the display.

I would say the flow into and out of the fuge should be rather slow to allow the algae to process the water. Once the water is in the fuge, though, the flow should be so that the cheato (assuming you are going to use cheato) is kept moving around or tumbling as it does best this way.

I would think what you are suggesting with the skimmer in the first section with the flow going through the fuge is fine.

Perhaps the best fuge that I have seen for keeping cheato thumbing was a simple 5 gal salt pail with a light over to and a single large power head keeping the water twisting in one direction. Some of the happiest cheato that I have ever seen.