refugium or sump?
14 posts • Page 1 of 2
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eazy4647 - Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:26 pm
refugium or sump?
ok guys. so today im buying my live rock. but now dat i have dat out the way im starting to save my a refugium or sump. so i wanna kno which would be a better set up for me..i currently have a FOWLR but definetly little by little it will be a reef...with corals and such. so wats better...should i go refugium or sump? sorry if this was asked before.
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snowboss - Posts: 458
- Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:53 pm
only thing i have heard and read on refugiums is that they need to be at least the same size of the display tank to be of much benifiecial use...they look really nice if done right ...but money for money...I'd stick to a sump.........i'd also wait to see what others will have to say on this subject....lol, Boss
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saltwaterpimp - Posts: 1307
- Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:22 am
i agree go with a sump.a refugium needs to be the same size or bigger and alot more work and money to stock.
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singapore - Posts: 238
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:47 pm
i am in the process of building a 20 gal sump for my 10 gal aquarium. it is going to have a chamber for bio-balls, and the rest of the space will be for chaetomorpha macroalgae, mangroves, and bits of live rock. i also am putting in a nano-reef skimmer. so the sump im building is part sump, part refugium. this, compined with my Magnum 250 canister filter should make for a very clean tank... maybe you could try the same?
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saltwaterpimp - Posts: 1307
- Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:22 am
singapore. not to crush your ideas but the bio balls wont be nedded better yet use live rock and a deep bed of sand your tank will do much better.imo. good luck and lets see them pics..
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Snowboss4492 - Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm
a 20 gallon sump on a ten gallon tank? is that physically possable? seems like you would only have a problem over pushing water to the 10 gallon or over draining the 10 to the 20...........sorry it just seems confusing to me ....Boss
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
Check out the link below:
http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html
The best argument for me for any sump is:
1.added water volume
2. Place to hide equipment such as heaters, skimmers, probes, etc.
3. Easier to keep microbubbles out of display from skimmer with bubble wall in sump
Why not have both? My display is a 75g and I use a standard 55g as a sump/refugium. I divided with acrylic into 3 eqaul sections. First section has the skimmer where the display drains, second is return area and third is refugium that is supplied by a T off of the return pump.
Having a refugium to grow macroalgae to export nutrients is a big plus.
I have a basketball sized ball a chaetomorpha spinning in my refugium that I prune every week and my nitrates stay below 5ppm.
Growing Xenia is also a great way to export excess nutrients. I just setup a 29g tank as a secondary display refugium plumbed into my sump that houses a pair Perc's, 3in. of aragonite and 30lbs of LR and have a few stalks of PomPom Xenia that I am going to let totally grow over all the rock.
http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html
The best argument for me for any sump is:
1.added water volume
2. Place to hide equipment such as heaters, skimmers, probes, etc.
3. Easier to keep microbubbles out of display from skimmer with bubble wall in sump
Why not have both? My display is a 75g and I use a standard 55g as a sump/refugium. I divided with acrylic into 3 eqaul sections. First section has the skimmer where the display drains, second is return area and third is refugium that is supplied by a T off of the return pump.
Having a refugium to grow macroalgae to export nutrients is a big plus.
I have a basketball sized ball a chaetomorpha spinning in my refugium that I prune every week and my nitrates stay below 5ppm.
Growing Xenia is also a great way to export excess nutrients. I just setup a 29g tank as a secondary display refugium plumbed into my sump that houses a pair Perc's, 3in. of aragonite and 30lbs of LR and have a few stalks of PomPom Xenia that I am going to let totally grow over all the rock.