fuge circulation question

[ohio reefer]

i have a 27 gal refugium. i have at one end about two inches of the bottom the water inlet from the sump. at the opposite end about two inches from the water surface the outlet to the sump.

my problem is this it seems i have some stagnant water at the surface. it looks kinda like an oil slick. is this ok, will it hurt the biological filtration?
should i add a mini-jet PH (60 gph) to give some circulation.

my intent for the refugium is for biological filtration, but also for zooplankton to grow and thrive and i don't want too much current to mess with those guys.

thanks for the help

mark

 

[dansemacabre]

Usually the way fuges are set up is so the water actually has to overflow over the top of a baffle, this takes the slick off and puts it back into the sump, where a skimmer can remove the gunk from the water. As long as the water's being oxygenated outside the fuge, it should maintain a high enough O2 level, provided there's at least decent flow THROUGH the fuge. What size is the sump and the display? If the 27g isn't even a significant amount compared to these, the water chemistry shouldn't change much while it runs through the fuge.

 

[ohio reefer]

my aquarium is 120 gal. my sump is also 27 gal. is the PH idea bad? should i put an air stone in there?

sorry for the stupid questions

mark

 

[ohio reefer]

my aquarium is 120 gal. my sump is also 27 gal. is the PH idea bad? should i put an air stone in there?

sorry for the stupid questions

mark

 

[dansemacabre]

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. If you're worried about stirring up stuff, don't put it a PH. I wouldn't. The airstone might just make nasty bubbles. The water chemistry isn't going to change all that much, especially coming out of a 120. When it gets really thick, scoop the gunk off. It'll come back, but it just looks ugly. As long as there is oxygenation going on in the sump (skimmer, etc) and in the display (using PH, overflow, etc) you should be ok. Do you have a protein skimmer? If you do, try tweaking it a little, that ugly film is usually DOC accumulating on the water surface. Upping the skimmer slightly may help a bit. HTH!

 

[ohio reefer]

thanks that helps a lot!!!