refugium question

[tran383]

can someone take a look at my refugium and see if this will work. i basically took a standard 20 gallon tank and split it into 3 sections. one for the drain hose, refugium, and return pump section. i wanted to draw water from my refugium to pump back into the main tank instead of putting the foam filter on the Mag 5 pump. hopefully this will return as much food as possible to my main display tank above. i'm thinking of hanging my remora skimmer in the refugium where the water from the main tank drains down as well. here's the link to the refugium:

http://www.squareroot8.com/refugium.jpg

thanks

[gregt]

Can't see the pic. Permissions problem.


PS> WELCOME to TRT!!!

[Casey]

Welcome to TRT Tran sorry I cant see the pic either.

[tran383]

hmmm. thanks guys! that was weird. okay I've uploaded the image to my profile on TRT. thanks.

tony

[tran383]

i've attached the picture, i hope this works. thanks

[Geoff]

the mag 5 will be a little high as far as flow goes in a 20. you may run into bubble/sand blowing problems.

if you make the baffle between the refuge and the mag 5 a touch lower then it should just fill up by gravity. you will not need a pipe to draw the water to the pump.

G~

[tran383]

actually the fuge is a 20 gallon, but the display tank is a 29. do you guys think i'll have a problem with flooding? i have the amiracle overflow prefilter box. the amiracle should drain as much as the mag 5 pumps up right?

also does anyone have any suggestions on what i should use for the water return, i was thinking of just connecting the return rubber hose to a pvc elbow and having it point horizontally acting as a powerhead back in the display tank, but it looks kinda ugly!?!?!? what should i do to prevent it from sliding back and forth on the back of my tank since its just hanging there (its an open tank on top)

thanks.

tony

[Geoff]

you should not have a problem with flooding with the baffle the height you are showing.

how far above the refuge/sump is the display. if more than 3' then you should be fine. i looked at a mag 5 flow chart and it will be slow enough that you should not have to hard of a time keeping bubbles under control.

for all of my returns i just use 3 PVC elbows. i would prolly use 3/4" PVC. 2 of the elbows are glued together to form a U that will hang over the lip of the tank. the other is not glued so you can rotate it around. i would run about a foot of regular PVC down behind the tank then switch the rest to flexible PVC. to the pump. gravity holds the return in place for me.

G~

[tran383]

thanks geoff-

my return height is about 4', i'll try that elbow idea.

if i'm adding cured live rock to the fuge, how long should i run it before i can start draining and return the water to the main tank? also should i use the water from my main tank to start my fuge tank cycle? thanks.

tony

[Geoff]

how long has your main system been up and running? if not long and you are still cycling it then plumb it all up and let it rip! if the LR is truely cured than you should be fine, or as fine as you can get when adding LR. if not then i would run the refuge for a month with just a powerhead in there to keep the circulation going. if you can put a skimmer on it that would be great. right before hooking it up to the display i would do a large water change in the refuge.

another note. make sure the LR stays completley submerged, i am sure it just does not look like it because it is a drawing, but just wanted to make sure. you will also want to clean out those sponges on a very regular basis. they will trap detritus and start to release nitrates.

G~