So I don't really need the deep sand on the bottom and critters running around? Just Chaeto being blown around with a light on it? I've got a Coral Life super skimmer 220 and a Supreme MagDrive 1800. Somebody suggested putting the skimmer on one end and the refugium on the other and have the return pump in a section in the middle with the flow from the tank coming into the skimmer area and then the return pump putting flow partially back up to the tank and partially to the refugium. That way the flow to the refugium would be about half of the flow. Does that sound like a plan, or do you thing that the refugium could handle that much flow? (wouldn't mind the sand bed with little beasties running around with the cyclone of chaeto....)
sump/refugium question (constintly confused)
- Thread starter kware
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Bandsaw
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The opinion is mixed on the deep sand bed in a refugium. Some like it and some don't. Sand beds don't get along well with high currents as you can imagine. You could go with some small pieces of live rock or a sand bed with live rock on top. I set my refugium up with two chambers. The first is filled to the top with live rock. The second has about 3" of miracle mud with my bigger pieces of live rock on top to help keep the sand bed stay put.
The cheato ball it self will harbor all kinds of critters. Don't need to worry about that. In fact some folks are absolutely opposed to a sand bed in a fuge. The choice would be yours. I think if I had to do it again, I would probably skip the and just go with a live rock rubble bottom.
Having the return in the center of your sump is similar to what I am doing. I draw water via MJ400 from the first section of the sump (where the water comes in but before the skimmer) and pump it to the fuge. That way the most nutrient rich water gets into the fuge. The output of the fuge then dumps back into the sumps return area.
Another idea that I think is better for you instead of messing around with the return is put a tee in your water line from the overflow of your display tank. Put a ball valve in the branch that leads to the refugium. The branch that leads to your sump can be left straight through. In this way, you can regulate the flow through the refugium. A power head in fuge will keep the cheato happy and the cheato will get the most nutrient rich water.
The cheato ball it self will harbor all kinds of critters. Don't need to worry about that. In fact some folks are absolutely opposed to a sand bed in a fuge. The choice would be yours. I think if I had to do it again, I would probably skip the and just go with a live rock rubble bottom.
Having the return in the center of your sump is similar to what I am doing. I draw water via MJ400 from the first section of the sump (where the water comes in but before the skimmer) and pump it to the fuge. That way the most nutrient rich water gets into the fuge. The output of the fuge then dumps back into the sumps return area.
Another idea that I think is better for you instead of messing around with the return is put a tee in your water line from the overflow of your display tank. Put a ball valve in the branch that leads to the refugium. The branch that leads to your sump can be left straight through. In this way, you can regulate the flow through the refugium. A power head in fuge will keep the cheato happy and the cheato will get the most nutrient rich water.
OK, I'll skip the sand. I've got crushed coral on the bottom of my current tank which is maybe .25 inch rubble like pieces. It's not very prone to blowing around, so I'll put some of it in there with some of the live rock and let the Chaeto float around. I have some small pumps in my current tank and was planning on putting my current return pump in my new tank for flow. I've seen some tiny stars in my tank before that I had no idea what they were, so I know I've got some beasties in there already. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it!!
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