refrigium help

[greatgman]

can i get some advise from all u finnheads out there?
i'm going to set up a refrigium for my 90 gal sw tank
what size should i use??(i was going for a 10 gal)
what substrate should i use (sand )???
how fast to pump water into an out of it??
lighting ??(2 clamp on lights with screw in compact florescent bulbs (20 wats) )where can i get the algae ??
what type ??(caulpera) ??

i'm new at refrigiums so any help will be most apreciated
i'm on a tight budget so i need to do this as cheaply as possible.

[indy]

10g is pretty small for a 90 display tank, I'd suggest going with at least a 20. You can use rubbermaid tubs or simliar and save quite a bit over buying another tank.

[greatgman]

a 20 is gonna be a tight fit under my tank with my sump

[greatgman]

what about the lights do u think it will be adequate?

[ellisz]

I use a 25 gal rubbermaid. I have a maxi1200 pumping water from my sump to the fuge and then it gravitty feeds back into the sump. If you are putting it under the tank, are you combinging a fuge and a sump together or are they separate?

The lighting should be ok. I was using a 75 watt grow bulb and I am trying a 20w(75watt output) CF bulb 6500k now. My macro have grown very well so far.

I got my macro from a LFS and online. I know most places you can find some locally. I have some

[seaham358]

How about a 15 gal tall? This is what I have under my 125. Same dimensions as a 10 but taller. I have it gravity feed back into the sump.
I used SouthDown play sand and it has worked out well. Stay away from grape clauerpa. I have mexicana and cheato(sp) that I got from members of my reef club. Do you have a LFS that sells it? You can buy it on line.....
bad job posting pics

[greatgman]

ellisz
i was thinking about puting it in my sump but decided not to (check out my gallery to see my ldea)

seaham 358- 15 g tall sounds better. but how do u get it to gravity feed from one tank to the other?

[ellisz]

I have a sump/fuge combo on a 72 that works great. It was built by sumphead. The sump and fuge on my 75 are separate though.

To get it to gravity feed, you will have to drill a hole. That is why I used a rubbermaid container for mine. The water reaches the level of the hole and drains into the sump.

[seaham358]

left side of tank is drilled near the top.... bulk head put in and the white pvc u see takes the over flow to the return side of the sump. I have the tak on 2x4 on there sides to get me over the sump. Rubbermaid would be cheaper... I like looking at the fuge so I would not be able to do that with the rubbermaid
Best way to feed the tak would be to tap into the return from the tank. I have 2 returns to my tank so I tapped into one of those instead because it was easier.
You want low flow in the fuge I have no PH in the fuge at all just the flow from the return.

[ellisz]

I never did find a rubbermaid to fit under my tank. Dimensions were never right. I put my sump and fuge in a closet on the other side of a wall. Solved that

[greatgman]

what if i put a divider in the fuge -say1.5 inches from one end
and cut teeth (similar to the tank overflow)
to drain then have a hole drilled w bulkhead fitting to my sump?