Refugium Idea, What do you think.

[stresco]

I want to build a refugium under my tank, in the stand to 1 increase my tank's water volume, 2 aid in filtration, and 3 grow microalgea. I have a 55 gal AG with a right sided overflow with an Americal WetDry now.

Here is my idea. Space and money are limited so,

A, I want to move the WetDry all the way over to the right side of the stand
B, Place a 10gal acrilic tank on top of a Milk Crate on the left side of the stand
C, Plumb the overflow of the tank directly into the 10gal tank.
D, I want to use 1" pvc pipe with a 1" angle in the 10gal for a siphone
E, I will attach a hose to another 1" angle at the top of the pvc pipe and run that to the WetDry intake (gravity should keep the water flowing)
F, I will keep everything else the same, skimmer is in the WetDry and i will pump the water back into the tank with my current Rio1700 from the WetDry

Think it will work?

 

[mojoreef]

Sounds pretty close to me. I would suggest one small modification. With the drain line coming out of the tank, I would split that pipe inot a wye. then run 2 one inch pipes from thier. take one to the refugium and one to the wet dry. The gravity feed the refugium water to the wet/dry as planned. When you use algae for a nutrient export it is all about contact time, as in the longer (or slower flow) the water stays in contact with the algae the better at nutrient uptake. 1700 gph might be a little quick.

Hope it helps


mike

 

[stresco]

Then should i construct some sort of overflo in the Ref and siphon out from there?

 

[mojoreef]

just a simple baffle a few inches away from the end and then just drill the bottom and put a bulkhead in. This should be just fine.


Mike

 

[stresco]

Sure sounds easy. But, what is a baffle?

 

[mojoreef]

Hey Stresco here is a sump/ref system I drew up for another reefer. It follows the same guidelines as your. Your drains are divided into 2 . 1 goes to the ref the other to the wet/dry. in this drawing the two are joined by a 2 inch pipe using bulkheads, but you can do yours the way we discribed above. if you look at the pic of the refugium u can see to black lines on either side of the sand bed, these are baffles/retainer walls.YOu want these so that the water coming in doesnt disturb the sand and so the sand doesnt drain out on the other end. You can make them from acrylic. you can just measure the size you need and have the guys at home depot cut it for ya. then you just silicone them to the glass of the tank.

 

[stresco]

Great illistration! Thanks for explaining it to me. I was planning on doing just that, i just didn't know it was called a baffle.

 

[mojoreef]

Glad it helped

mike

 

[stresco]

Here is the design that i came up with. But after taking measurements i realize that the milk crate will not fit. Any ideas on how to make my design work will be appreciated.

 

[BillyZ]

you're refugium doesn't necessarily need to be higher than your wet dry for the syphon to work. They can sit at the same level and be connected and the water will still flow just fine.

 

[stresco]

I have re-thought the design again, and am working on a new layout. I am trying to spend as little money as possible. I might be able to keep the whole thing for about $50 or so if i use a rubbermaid plastice tub as the actual ref, with a smaller one inside holding the LS. Its just that my space under the stand is so limited.

 

[BillyZ]

i have the same issue. my "Stand" is actually a buffet. Has plenty of drawers for keeping equip, test kits etc... but absolutly no room for a fuge or anything bigger than a bag of salt heh. I'd be curious to see what you come up with.