Refugium for on top of 55 gal

[astride13]

I setup a 55 gallon tank a few months ago. It sits on top of a bar in between my kitchen and family room. It is viewable from all sides and I have been trying to think of a way to build a filter inside the hood so it would be out of sight and use the same lights as the tank.

I designed it and built it this weekend as diagrammed below. I plan on putting a 3" DSB, some live rock and whatever algaes I come across. It will only be 7" tall, 5" wide and 48" long. It will use a powerhead to bring the water up from the tank, and gravity to drain back into the tank.

After I put the 3" of sand, since it is only 7" tall, I will only have just over 3" of water above the sand. Will this be enough?

The fuge will only be 7 gallons, will this be enough for a 55 gallon?

How much LR should I put in the fuge?

 

[fernzpat]

Nice diagram!

The fuge will only be 7 gallons, will this be enough for a 55 gallon?

Enough for what? It would not be enough to feed two adult Mandarin Goby's probably, but the general consensus is that any size refugium is better than nothing...

How did you anchor this 'fuge on your hood. Are you having any weight issues with it? I would be interested in seing pictures when you are done.

I worry about heat as well being that close to your lights. What are you running?

 

[BillyZ]

thats a very cool diagram! better than any of mine! heh.

as far as being enough, it is kind of a subjective question and I'll second fernzpat's comment as anything is better than nothing. You've got a length and a height, how deep (wide) is it?

i also would lOVE to see some pics of this!

 

[fernzpat]

And how did you do that diagram????????

 

[astride13]

I did the diagram in Photoshop. Thanks for the good words.

I am giving extra time for the Weldon to dry. I will take some pictures and post them shortly. Hopefully my playing with acrylic will give me enough practice to build a real tank.

It is only 5" wide, but from what I have read surface area is more important than anything. Nothing really specifies a recommend water depth and since I only have 7" to 8" in my hood, I thought it would be deep enough for some algaes. The light I am using is a Coralife 4x65w that is mounted at the top/middle of the hood. The refuge will fit on one side of the light and share the light. The other side is my tank access. My plan is to have nothing except 4 small powerheads kind of hidden in the LR, the intake and return of the fuge visable. I do not plan on having any extra filters and I do not use a heater. South Florida rarely gets cold and my home is always at 78 year around which keeps the tank just below 80.

 

[BillyZ]

sounds pretty feasable... very interested to see this in action! did you have any problems with the weight of the sand/water? somthing that long and only 5" wide seems like it would want to sag a bit in the middle, or is it supported in some way by the hood/tank?

 

[astride13]

It will be supported by the tank on one side the entire 48" and will rest on the middle brace and the two ends. I dont think weight will be a problem, but I will let you guys know. I have a boat, but I hope I dont need it.

 

[fernzpat]

Can't wait for pics! I have a 14" tall canopy and am always looking for space...

 

[astride13]

Here are the pictures. I am still short some live rock. (I will be ordering some from liverocks.com.) I moved some small pieces from my tank and added a 3" DSB.

I made two design changes when I actually put it all together. I took out the panel seperating the sand from the return and let the sand fill the entire side. I also put the pump in the tank because it would not prime after a power failure if it was 4" above the tank.


This is the intake side. I put a sponge on top of it, I am trying to thing of the best thing to put on top that will help clean debris. (any ideas?)

This is of the pump in the tank.

The return side. I put a 'T' fitting to make sure it would always return enough water.

So far I only have one emerald crab and a few snails. I will be adding some algaes (anyone need to get rid of any?) and some more inverts. (any suggestions?)

 

[BillyZ]

Impressive! Looks like it came together quite nicely! ANd it looks like you did a quality job with construction.

Does that T fitting make much noise?

 

[astride13]

The 'T' fitting actually make more noise than I expectedWhat should I use?

This was my first acrylic project. It was very easy to work with. I made it with out any silcone and had no leaks. I used 1/4" acrylic which was a little thicker than I needed, but it it really solid.

Total Cost:
$35.00 48" x 24" 1/4" Acrylic (Piedmont Plastics)
$6.00 Weldon #3 (Piedmont Plastics)
$2.00 Weldon Applicator (Piedmont Plastics)
$20.00 Maxijet 600, 160gph (LFS)
$6.00 1/2" Bulkhead (LFS)
$6.00 1/2" Bulkhead (LFS)
$3.00 Fittings: 'T', 90, 90, 6" Tube, 3" Tube (Home Depot)
---------
$78.00 Total not including Sand or Live Rock.


I have not ordered additional live rock and I took the sand from the beach.

 

[BillyZ]

The 'T' fitting actually make more noise than I expectedWhat should I use?

hmm some might suggest either two 90's to make a siphon type of overflow or perhaps your better option would be the durso style standpipe... if you have the room for it

 

[fernzpat]

Astride,

I have more than I know what to do with... I would be glad to send you some...

Couple of questions, has this setup affected your water temp at all? How much lighting is getting into the fuge? (looks kind of dim...)

-Patrick

 

[astride13]

As BillyZ recommended, I setup a "durso style standpipe". It is now silent, but I still get a lot of bubbles into the tank. Is this a problem? I haven't received any written complaints from the inhabitants.

I added some more live rock that my LFS gave my for $2.99/lb. They were happy to get rid of all the small pieces. I still need some algaes, so I will take fernzpat up on his offer.

My temperature has not changed at all yet. I am still low on lighting until I make my new canopy to hold the light higher.

I put a few emerald crabs and some snails in the fuge. I have noticed a lot more pods than I expected. I used sand from the beach, I scooped it right out of the water. I hope I didn't pickup anything bad.

 

[astride13]

The fuge is working great. I wanted to post some updated pictures almost 2 months after I set it up.

I have a 2x65 power compact on opposite lighting. I put the pump in a small overflow that I made because the pump in the fuge would not prime if it went dry for any reason. I had some bioballs that I put in the first chamber. It catches any big pieces that come in so they can rot and feed my fuge. My nitrates are never above 5ppm and my ph, calcium and alk are always perfectly stable.

The pods look like ants running around all day and night! I also have some clams and tube worms that appeared from no where.

 

[Calvin]

What happens to the water from your filter if you lose power or the pump goes out?

 

[astride13]

All I loose is the box on the right and upto the level on the return. It is about 1.5 gallons and my tank has enough of a buffer.

 

[Guest]

I haven't received any written complaints from the inhabitants.

LMAO

 

[fernzpat]

Astride,

what is that big ball on the left side? a sea apple?

 

[astride13]

To the left of the return? It is actually the inside of the sponge on the return. I dropped it in when I was puting the piece around the return and a bunch of pods moved in so I left it.