Adding a refugium

[jcarlilesiu]

Hey everybody. I am considering taking an extra 10 gallon tank I have laying around and making a little refugium under my 150 gal. mixed reef. I plan on running the refugium separate from my sump because my sump is basically full.

What I plan on doing is putting the 10 gallon up on a small stand so that it is able to siphon water out of the refugium and back into the sump with a simple overflow. Then I can just pump water into the refugium from the sump either by the T-joint I have on the return line of the main sump pump, or by adding a small power head into the sump and pumping the water up and into the refugium.

I have never done one of these venturi siphon type overflow boxes.

What is there to know? If the water source stops pumping water into the refugium, then the siphon will break? And then, if the power comes back on it floods. Right? So how do you handle this situation?

Anything else I should know about my plan?

 

[huma-huma]

Why not simply have the 10 g drilled on one side, then connect pvc piping from the 10g to your sump. This way your overflow will empty into the 10g, then flow into your sump.....completely avoiding the need for a syphon break

 

[Gti_Leo]

that works also, or just [moderator edit] the fuge to the sump if you have the space to section it off.

i would go larger then a 10g though, that is small for a 150g

 

[huma-huma]

that works also, or just [moderator edit] the fuge to the sump if you have the space to section it off.

i would go larger then a 10g though, that is small for a 150g

Normally I'd say 10g is def too small but wouldn't it work in combination with a sump?

 

[carey]

That size tank I would go with a 20L or a 29g. The more space the more benefit.

 

[Gti_Leo]

well in most cases, peopel incorperate a fuge and a sump together, limiting the space of the fuge and the ammont of LR and micro and macro algae you can put in to reduce the water polutions.

in a sump really all you need is a place for your heater skimmer and return pump so a 20g may work depending on the skimmer size and the fuge should be as big as you can fit and as much as you can afford.

 

[David S]

10g is def big enough for a fuge as you have a sump as well,I too would just drill the 10g and have it drain into the sump via gravity if you can have it higher than the sump and just add a tee from your sump supply to feed the fuge.

 

[huma-huma]

10g is def big enough for a fuge as you have a sump as well,I too would just drill the 10g and have it drain into the sump via gravity if you can have it higher than the sump and just add a tee from your sump supply to feed the fuge.

Couldn't his overflow just empty into the fuge? That way he could avoid having to plumb in a t.

 

[David S]

Couldn't his overflow just empty into the fuge? That way he could avoid having to plumb in a t.

you can do that but you'll have the full flow going through the fuge,normally you want a slower flow so you use a t with a valve on it to throttle it down.

 

[huma-huma]

Good call, completely forgot that part....

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Thanks for all of the replies everybody.

My current sump is 13x34 and holds about 10 inches of water. So my sump operates with about 20 gallons in it.

I would be adding 10 more for a total of 30.

I would like to drill the ten gallon so I don't have to worry about siphon breaks. Where or who would I take the tank to to do this? I have never drilled glass.

My current return line has a T connection on it. I wanted to have the ability to throttle down the return line with a ball valve, but have a T to keep pressure off of the pump when throttled down. I will plumb that right over to the fuge and then have it dump back into the sump.

Limited space requires nothing bigger than a 10 gallon.

Thanks for the comments everybody. Ill take photos when its done.

 

[huma-huma]

If you have any local glass or mirror shops, they should be able to cut it for you, another simple choice would be to cut out one panel and replace it with a thick plastic panel, obviously with a cutout already in place. I seen a guy do that to about 30- 10g tanks for his store. He simply cutout the bottom panel and replaced it

 

[Gti_Leo]

www.glass-holes.com

 

[mr_X]

i think this is a waste of time. i doubt you will see any benefits from such a small refugium on a large system like that.

that said, choking back the pump is good for it and will actually cut down on electric usage and also extend the pumps life. keeping pressure off of it is not helping.

 

[Gti_Leo]

exactly what i said the fuge is to small, thank you doug.

i don't believe thaqt choking down a pump is good for it as you will still have the pressure pushing back, the pressure will build up at the ball valve rather then flow. you'll put the same pressure on if not more on the pump. that being said its not the pump they will be choked its the drain flow

 

[mr_X]

what are you talking about? starving it of water? if so, then you are correct. if you think that putting a ball valve at the exhaust port of a pump is bad for it, you are incorrect.
if you choke the drain flow, all that will happen is the DT will overflow on to the floor.

 

[Gti_Leo]

what they are talkign about is diverting water from the fuge section to the sump section so that the higher flow goes to the sump and the fuge get s a slower flow of water

 

[mr_X]

yes, i know what they are talking about. i was commenting on the OP's concern about "keeping pressure off the pump while throttled down". there is no need to do this.

 

[Gti_Leo]

no there is no concern for it, not if you get a good quality pump

 

[mr_X]

good quality, or bad quality, putting a ball valve at the exhaust port of a pump will help it to last longer. it will not hurt a pump EVER.