Refugium idea

[jester]

ok I want to make a small reugium for the hope of getting a mandrain I have a 60g tank with plenty of copods but to make sure there is enough I want a refugium I want to use a acrylic box 9in across 8 in long and 15 inches high this is all that will fit under my tank but it will be like 5 feet from my sump I was wondering if 2 powerheads would work to transfer water from refugium to sump thanks let me know if im crazy or not or any other ideas thanks Jester

 

[ellisz]

I have my rufugium elevated beside my sump and only need 1 PH to pump water up to the fuge. It gravity feeds back into the sump.

 

[jester]

i have no room to do that but thanks because of exsisting plumbing

 

[ellisz]

SO you are wanting to use 1 PH in the sump and 1 in the fugeto cycle the water? Would work as long as they had the same gph but I normally read that it is an accident waiting to happen. I have never tried it either BTW.

If 1 pumps starts out doing the other, you will end up with a wet mess.

 

[seaham358]

Using 2 PH is not the best way to do that for reasons stated. gravity is the prefered method. Going through a lot of PH will kill alot of the pods.
Any way you can tap into the return to the tank for the water? You only need a low flow of water for a fuge.

 

[loganj]

Using two pumps is a recipe for disaster. It will get out of balance eventually and make a mess...no way around it. You really need to come up with a way to let the fuge drain back into the sump. If you could set it up to drain into the main tank, that would be even better. Can you modify it to hang on the back of the tank like the CPR models? Another option would be to have a SMALL powerhead in the fuge and run a U tube siphon to the sump. Get a siphon started and the water levels will equalize. As the PH pumps water out of the fuge, water will flow back in as the siphon tries to equalize the levels. Place the PH high enough in the fuge so that, if the siphon is lost, you won't completely drain the fuge. Also, make sure the sump will hold, in addition to the water that will drain down from the main tank if the main pump quits, the extra water from the fuge if the siphon is lost (not likely, but possible). JMHO.

 

[jester]

im screwed u guys are losing me maybee i will just run a pipe about 5 feet that should work where should this pipe go hight wise like at the top of the fug and the top of the sump or what ?

 

[JohnNLuc]

Hate to jump in and make things more complicated and correct me if im wrong but I was under the impression having both a sump and a fuge really canceled eachother out?

 

[fireman26m]

A sump is for increased water volume and a place to put your skimmer, heater etc. A fuge is for providing a "safe" area for pods to live/grow/multiply and also for plants for nitrate reduction.

 

[seaham358]

A fuge is a big help in any setup and is no way canceled out by the sump.

 

[klam]

A sump can also be used as a fuge.