Turn 10al into a fuge

[Johnny Cakes]

Hi all: Okay, everytime I go by a pet aisle, money seems to just fly out of my pocket now.

Anyway, I was at Wally World and picked up a 10gal for <$10. I want to turn this puppy into a fuge, but am totally unaware of what I need in order to do that.

I have a 55gal that is going ot start at FOWLR and move to Reef slowly.

So question is, I have this nice new 10gal tank and what do I do to turn it into a fuge? I need to know how you experts would do it, from how you set up the water exchange b/w the main tank and the fuge, to the types of sand/mud and plant life to put in here.

Also, how much do you see me spending on this project? The wife is about ready to kill me with all the buckets of water, test tubes, and wet messes.

Thanks for the help.

 

[tecwzrd]

The article “ Refugiums, aka fuges or refuge covers what to put in it.

Do you already have an overflow and sump? If so do you have enough room under the tank for the fuge also? IMO acrylic tanks are much better suited for refugiums since you can drill them and just place them above your sump and pump water into them from a T off your regular return line and just have them gravity feed back into the sump.

The tank from Wal-Mart is more then likely tempered and would probably shatter if drilled but it’s possible the sides are not tempered and are drillable. Hopefully others will chime in if they have been able to drill the side of a Wal-Mart tank.

If you don’t have an overflow/sump yet I wouldn’t even worry about plumbing the fuge until you get one IMO. Not that either is necessary for a successful tank.

Cost is really dependent on what you have currently and can’t be answered until then.

I bought my overflow which was around $100 and built my sump for $60 and the return pump ran me $70 for general costs of adding if you’re interested.

Is your

still correct and you don’t currently have any stock? With 75 lbs of rock in your 55 and if you keep it lightly stocked you shouldn’t need a sump or fuge with regular maintenance on the tank.

 

[Johnny Cakes]

Thanks for the help.

I though a side by side set up might look good, with some aquatic plant life (mangroves), and might help to turn nitrates into N2.

But, you are right, lightly stocked and regular water changes should keep nitrates down.

I was hoping to keep the NO3 from climbing to a point where inverts might be hurt if I started stocking anemones and some corals later in the tank life.

But, after s little research, it seems that a sump to increase total water volume might be a better place to start than a refugium. Good thing I saved the receipt.

Do you have any instructions for how you built your sump?

 

[tecwzrd]

I followed the directions in the post “Documentation: 40 gal sump project ***dial up sensitive***” but used a 20 gal long tank since that is the only size that comfortably fit in my 55 gal stand. I could have also used a 29 gal tank but wanted to add a 10 gal fuge just above the sump which gravity feeds back into the sump.

melevsreef.com has a lot of good info on sumps as well.