Quick Question For A Beginner

[SVTUSMC]

Hey guys and Gals,

So I have been doing lots of reading and studying on starting a Marine Aquarium, and I have come to the subject of Refigums, Sumps and Portien Skimmers and I have several questions, it seems like no matter how much I read about them I can figure out how they work.

1. Are a sump and a refigum the same thing?

2. How does a refigum work? How does the water get down to it? And then back to the tank? What does it do once it's in the tank? Why are there several differnt chambers?

3. What exactly does a protien skimmer do and how does it work? I've seen some built into the refigum is that needed?

Like I said I've done lots of reading maybe someone can dumb it down for me? Its getting frustrating wanting to learn all this and hitting a roadblock.

Thanks!!!

 

[Dav3]

Dumbed down version:

1: sump is just a container of water typically below your display. Water from display tank drains down to sump and a pump pushes water from sump back up to display tank. Dividers are used to keep water flowing in one direction and reduce bubbles from showing up in display. Sumps serve two purposes. Added water volume which equals more stable tank and as a place to hide equipment.

2. Refugiums are typically added as part of a sump. Typically between skimmer section and return section. Used as a place to grow macro algae as a form of nutrient(bad) removal. Also can be used to grow pods(copepods & amphipods).

3. Protein skimmers are often a primary source of nutrient extraction/removal via foam. Look up articles on protein skimming. There are plenty that describe the process in detail.

 

[bribo12]

Hey SVTUSMC I will try to answer your questions for you.
1. A sump is a tank usually underneath your display tank that adds extra water volume to the system. It is where you can hide equipment like heaters, protein skimmers, etc... A refugium is an area within the sump that is used to grow macro algae to help control nitrates and phosphates.
2. A refugium works basically as a nitrate and phosphate reducer. As the macro algae in the sump grows it takes up nitrates from the whole system helping to keep the tank in balance. People usually use two methods to get water into the sump and back up to the tank. The first way is to use an overflow box and then plumb it down into the sump, then using a return pump to push the water back from the sump into the main tank. The second way is to have the tank drilled and use a gravity feed to get the water down into the sump. Then a pump returns the water from the sump back to the tank. There are different chambers because there is usually a bubble trap to trap microbubbles and a refugium section. The acrylic panels chambering it off help block sand, rubble and algae from getting into the pumps.
3. A protein skimmer removes unwanted organics and proteins from the water helping with water quality. A good skimmer will remove a lot of unwanted junk. In a sump people usually house it in the chamber before the refugium.
Hope this helps!

 

[SVTUSMC]

Thank you guys so much for your help with understanding, I completely get it now!

 

[huma-huma]

Skimmers exploit whats known as foam refractioning, dirt (nutrients) are suspended in saltwater, and being as to how sw is bi-polar in nature, when the sw is exposed to oxygen bubbles, the suspended nutrients cling to the bubbles. They they travel up the cylinder until thw bubble pops, in turn leaving the dirt at the top. youll prob come across a ton of cheapie junk skimmers that look just like the higher-priced counterparts, but do yourself a favor and spend good money on a high-quality skimmer. You will be amazed at the performance