10 gallon refugium

[saltyschwinn]

i want to make a 10 gallon refugium for my 20 gallon reef and i'm confused about overflow/return pump matching. how many gph should the pump be for a smaller sized overflow (not really sure gph)? should the return pump more than the overflow takes or vice versa?

[Geoff]

why? what have you been led to believe a refugium will do for you?

G~

[saltyschwinn]

more water volume = more stable parameters across the board, hide equipment out of display, added bio filtration....to name a few. my question though is the physics of it

[Geoff]

yes=more water volume=more stable parameters.
yes=hide equipment out of display, though most would argue that you are just making a bigger sump, which is also a fine idea.

no=added bio filtration. myth. you are just creating more mouths to feed that do not help the system in the long run.

G~

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Geoff

no=added bio filtration. myth. you are just creating more mouths to feed that do not help the system in the long run.

My 120 will have a "refugium/sump" setup under it. It WILL have added bio filtration from having the refugium under it. So I am sorry but I have to disagree with the "added bio filtration" being a myth.

Have you read the thread on it in TTT? I am interested in your ideas on it.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by saltyschwinn

i want to make a 10 gallon refugium for my 20 gallon reef and i'm confused about overflow/return pump matching. how many gph should the pump be for a smaller sized overflow (not really sure gph)? should the return pump more than the overflow takes or vice versa?

What are you going to keep in the sump? I have a 20 with a 10G sump under it.

It has a 1" drain drilled in the tank so it can potentially drain about 600gph but in reality I think its draining somewhere around 250 gph which is about where I wanted it for me personally.

If you run a hang on skimmer of some sort in it to get it out of the sump but still in the stand to free up that room, you have enough room to actually try to grow some algae or something else in the sump. If you pick a skimmer that goes in the sump, by the time you add baffles you run out of room quickly because the return pump area needs to be as large as you can make it so that it handles evaporation better between top offs.

What kind of skimmer? What other equipment besides the heater? What are you keeping in the tank? SPS/LPS/Softies? Those questions can help figure out what you can/can't do in a 10G tank since its not very large.

[Merdock21]

Well you all seem to be having a battle of the brains over a little Q an A, ha. Any how I work on aircraft for a living so I will not tell you I know a lot about all this fish / reef stuff. But I do live with a marine biologist and help out with NOAA doing little things here and there so I pick up a little. I have a 28 gallon reef tank with a 10 gallon refugium / sump. It works fine! For your pump Q and A I have one that pumps 296GPH (has control to slow that down a little) and my overflow moves about 200GPH maybe a little more. I was told to make sure my pump didn’t pump to much more than my overflow could move per hour. Someone else may be able to feed you some better info in this area! If it has wings I do better at the Q and A.



Here is what Wikipedia said about your refugium...

In fishkeeping, a refugium is an appendage to a marine, brackish, or freshwater fish tank that shares the same water supply. For some applications water flow is limited in order to protect plants or animals that need very slow water. The refugium light cycle can be operated opposite to the main tank, in order to keep the total system pH more stable (due to the uptake of acid-forming CO2 by the refugium during its daylight hours). One size guideline is 1/10th main tank volume. A refugium may be used for one or more purposes such as denitrification, nutrient export, plankton production, circulation, surface agitation, oxygenation or aesthetic purposes.

Refugiums often contain live rock and live sand, macroalgae, and scavenger microfauna such as micro brittle stars, tiny sea stars such as asterina, snails, and worms. To get the maximum biological filtration (through uptake of nutrients by macroalgae/mangroves), strong lighting can be used on the refugium. Some people also use refugiums to raise tiny brine or mysis shrimp for delicate fish like seahoursesand dragonets. A sump is a refugium that also contains the main aquarium's other equipment, to keep all hoses, filters, and heaters out of view. This is especially common for show tanks and reef tanks.
In home aquariums, the refugium is typically located in the cabinet underneath the main tank. By confining the plants and creatures to the refugium, the main tank remains clean and aesthetically pleasing, while the biological filtration takes place in the refugium.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Merdock21

Here is what Wikipedia said about your refugium...

One size guideline is 1/10th main tank volume.

That's one reason wikipedia is such a bad place to use as a reference. The guideline to a refugium or a sump (either one) is to get the largest one that will fit the phsycial space you have and still allow you to be able to work in it. Has nothing at all to do with the total volume of the "main tank volume". Although a 1.2 gallon "refugium" would probably be a colossal waste of time on my 12G nano tank.

[Merdock21]

Its all good no need to get up in arms . This person is just looking for a little help with pumps and overflows. I say we get our thinking caps on and find them some answers! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we can leave it at that. If you want to read up on your own question go take a look at reefkeeping.com there is a very good article about sumps and the size of pumps you need and so on.