Refugium Pump

[jcdwep]

Okay, built my refugium and now will be needing a pump. My questions are: 1) What flow rate do I need to look at for this 30 gallon refugium, I know it is not supposed to be too high and 2) I have read that you don't want one that has an impeller due to the chopping up of critters that might be travelling to the tank, so what model does not have an impeller?

Thanks for all advice.

 

[electrikat]

Is the fuge above or below the main tank? If below, how many feet does the water have to go up to get to the tank? I don't know of any pumps without impellars but they are probably out there. You gph will depend on the head pressure to get the water up to the tank so you will need to give us a length of travel.

 

[jcdwep]

The fuge will be under the stand. Distance will be about 4-5 feet. That impellar thing kinda threw me off. I wasn't sure if you get a pump safe for pods. What water flow should I be shooting for here? I am planning to drill my HOB wet/dry and running the water from it to the fuge. Keeping it as a filteration piece. In the process I am sort of converting my w/d to a mini-fuge itself. Double the action. Good or bad? :?

Another thing I need some input on is the best plants and critters to put in it. I've read about some plants going sexual and crashing tanks. What are some of everyone's preferences?

Thanks Again!

 

[electrikat]

My sump is about 4 to 5 feet under my tank and I use a 375 gph return pump. That might be a little high but it's what I had laying around. The wet/dry as a fuge with live rock rubble is a fairly common practice. I don't know about the hob feeding your sump. I guess that as long as when the power goes off, everything shuts down it might be ok. And also when the power comes back on everything starts back up on it's own. You'll definitely want some snails, reef safe hermits, and maybe some sand sifter stars. I have chaeto for my plant life in my fuge but I would think caularpa, shave brush, mangroves or just about any algae will work. I don't know about the plants going sexual but I'm sure someone else will chime in soon. As always this is JMHO and YMMV.

 

[jcdwep]

Thank you Kat for the comments/advice. I'll try to do a search for info on the "bad" things to watch out for from plants. Maybe come across something there.

 

[DeNero1331]

The caulerpa goes sexual but not if you keep it under lights 24/7. I currently have some caulerpa but heard chaeto is a much easier choice since it doesn't go sexual.

 

[jcdwep]

Any idea how long Caulerpa would have to be out of the light to cause a problem? I mean if the electricity goes, what is the time limit or is that known.

Also can I get advice on the type of light needed for a refugium. I have a basic 36" flourescent fixture I was going to use with a bulb of whatever K rating I need. Would that work or should use my compact? It is 48" and I didn't want to use that much light.

 

[electrikat]

Most any kind of plant light or bulb over 6500k should do for a fuge. It's just for algae not actually for corals.

 

[PatM]

Not real sure on the time limit, though people have had success with just a 12/12 cycle, so I doubt thats a huge issue, do you have a lot of power outages? I light my caulerpa 24/7, and prune weekly, both are supposed to keep it from going sexual, though theres really no gaurantee. I know there are risks, but I've had 0 nitrates since adding it, I just can't let it go. Some argue that the DSB is just as effective once properly established, I just can't see that though. I'm using 40 watts NO flourescent on a 20 gallon tall made into a sump, and the stuff is growing like crazy.

 

[jcdwep]

Power outages are not a real problem I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't some unseen danger of crashing the tank due to my not knowing about it.
Here is something else- I want to drill my HOB wet/dry and flow the water into my fuge from it. Then using the pump I am currently running on my w/d to send back into the tank. Anyone ever done this or seen it? I haven't been able to find any diagrams or stories about this.

 

[DeNero1331]

it shouldn't be too difficult. just make sure you have the plumbing to run it. I have a hob that came with holes already cut so you should be able to buy one preset. I would recommend checking home depot or a lfs for a bulk head and a hose to run it if you plan on a diy. then make sure your fittings are snug and it should work fine.

I have two over flows in my tank. One goes to the sump and the other to my fuge. The fuge has an overflow that feeds to my sump which pumps back to the main tank and to my protein skimmer which feeds back to the fuge. using the overflow makes my small fuge and smaller sump act like one big tank.

 

[frogiii]

your flow rate shouldn't matter if you trying to lower your nitrates. The plat will pull nitrate in no matter how fast your flow is. But if you're tring to grow or breed any pods, yes it's better to have slow flow through your refugium.

 

[jcdwep]

I have decided to go with a seperate overflow for the fuge instead of drilling my HOB. I figure then I will have more control of the flowrate and possibly prevent screwing up a perfectly good HOB filter. I am not known for patience in building and designing things. In fact I have many perfectly good broken things laying around as evidence of my handiwork.
The extra overflow added to my cost but I figure at this point what the heck is another $50. Of course now I will need another pump..........a few more $$$.