sumps and refugiums... make or buy?

V

vanzea

New member
My question is what is the difference in the sump v the refugium.......which one is more essetial for a 29 gal tank. i have found a few sights that sell sumps....however from looking at picture i have seen that a lot of them are custom are the easy to make....?? any pictures out there??
 
A sump is just a reservoir. Basically a tank that holds extra water volume. This is where we put our equipment like skimmers, heaters, etc... A refugium is an area, sometimes in a sump, that doesn't have any predators. This is an area where you can grow macro algaes, pods, etc... Depends on your needs, but if you have room, I'd try to do both. ;)


Couple of links for you. :)
Melev's Reef
http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part I
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.php
 
thanks for the sites they are very informative and i think that a sumo and refigum are in the future!!!!
 
I definitely vote build your own as well. I built my 20 tall sump for my 45 tall tank for about $60. I used the design on Melev's site that is for a 20 long, but I just made it for my 20 tall. :)

Brandon
 
That seems pretty cool...

Let us know what its like when you get it!

I've been considering doing a different sump and may do that one.

Brandon
 
WIll do, the 30 was 125 with shipping and the 35 is like 175... Hopefully not a waste of too much money.
 
The first one is the one I did, except in a 20 tall.

000_0389.jpg


:)

Brandon
 
OK, here it is almost finished, just him haw around about where to place the baffle between the return and fuge. Not sure if I should make the return larger. I am going to wait until I plumb it and then seal it down. Unitl then I will cross my fingers that it is going to work and the skimmer better perform. I feel like Tim Taylor with my new Binford 1000




154330FUGE__Medium_.JPG
 
Looks nice, man!

Is that 1/4" acrylic?

Your return will be fine, BUT I would definitely plan on auto top off just to be sure.

Brandon
 
I would make a sump if you feel comfortable doing so... I am pi$$ed at the fact that I spent $200 for a sump that does not accomodate a large water volume or have all the necessary compartments that i now desire. Custom sump via a small AGA tank and some acrylic will run you around 100 depending on how large you want to go.
 
Or even cheaper with glass. I got all of the glass for my sump PLUS my horizontal overflow for $30 and its 1/4". That brought the total cost of my sump to a whopping $50. :)

Brandon
 
you can have lowes or hd cut glass for you to the size you need- i made a simple on eout of a 55 aga tank for less then 40 bucks minus the tank cost

i dont think they even charge for the cutting they only charge for the glass- granted its very cheap glass only 1/8 inch i think-- should be fine so long your not making that whole tank out of it and only the baffles to put into a perfecto or aga tank
 
PPI be sure and post pics of sump/refugium when you have all equipment plumbed and mounted.

Thanks,

Looks Good!
 
Unfortuanately I had to assemble the entire thing, the panels were just pre cut.
 
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