flow rate ?

the raz · 10-13-2006, 10:24 AM

i have a 65 gal reef tank and ive been thinking of adding a small refugium to it to cultivate small amounts of food and aid in filtration. i had a small tank sitting in my garage that i put baffles in to the specs of a dyi fuge i saw in the dyi section on trt and made some changes to make it closer to the eco system fuge . the tank specs are 20 long, 10 w, 12h with baffles about 8" high . this fuge is going under my tank . now for my question . what size pump and over flow box should i put on this system? a guy i know in the hobby told me to use a mag 9 pump and an 800 gal overflow but that seems very large for my size refuge . is that to much flow or not ? all in put would help thanx .

Geoff · 10-13-2006, 10:31 AM

i would just use the tank as an overflow and skip the fuge idea, but then again i think fuges are more work for no real benefit.

adding sump is a good thing though. i would say go with a 600gph overflow. it will have a 1" drain. a Mag 5 for the return. a Mag 7 would also work depending on how tall your stand is.

G~

the raz · 10-13-2006, 10:53 AM

well geoff im just doing it just to do it and if it helps it helps . i figure i can grow a little fresh algae to feed my tang and blenny . im on a second floor so i have some weight issues and space issues so im not doing a full blown sump . thanx for the recommended pump and over flow sizes . so you think 500 to 700 gph is good for that size tank and with that overflow?

Wiskey · 10-13-2006, 11:11 AM

I agree with Geoff, I really think that the whole eco system fuge is a problem; however every time I setup a tank that has sand I always make a spot for growing a ball of cheto. This is a bare bottom (no substrate for easy cleaning) area in my sump that has a light over it, it also doubles as a settling area as any fuge would. That's the problem with having sand or miracle mud, it is going to load up with ditritus very fast in that kind of low flow envryoment.

Whiskey