Help on sump and fuge

[Fishking22]

Alright so if I have an overflow with 2 u-tubes say about 800gph drain to my sump. Can my sump just be a protein skimmer spot because I heard if u had bio balls or a sponge cleaner, that it might cause nitrate problems? And can I have a uv sterilizer in my sump? And should what gph return pump should I use? Like How fast? And I heard I should have my sump go to my refugium? (I have to have sump and fuge separate cause of my low wacky stand with lots of legs). Thanks for all help!

 

[Gti_Leo]

yeah you can have just your skimmer and heater in there. on a reef bioballs are not recomemnded. natural filtration is best in a reef so LR and micro algaes in a fuge. flow rate should be around the same ratign as your skimmer pump, but a general rule of thumb is about 5 times the full system, so a 150g wit ha 50g sump/fugewhould have a pump that can do about 1000 gph.

a UV sterilizer is really a waste of money, unless you have a serious ich problem

 

[dlsrks]

Yes you can have a UV sterilizer in your sump and it does help with nitrates and algae buildup. I am glad I bought one. It is not a waste of money.