gravity drain refuge idea?

[justDIY]

just a rough idea - don't beat me up too bad

[hitsnorth]

Beat you up? This is a great plan Very simple!

[kidafius]

What exactly is the plan? Is the fuge just cycling into the sump, and the sump has a seperate return for the display tank? What is going into the fuge? LR and LS, but any plants or anything?

I am going to set up a similar fuge with my 55, except I am going LR/LS and lots lots of plants: shaving brush, red mangrove tuber, and such. I want my sump to empty into the fuge, and the fuge to empty into the aquarium. Is my plan flawed?

[kribbz]

i think that that idea is a good one however some might say that the idea of a refugium is to create a safe-haven for many microorganisms to flourish. so in that sense your fuge is perfect. however the biggest argument is that when the fuge enters into the by gravity it is then being pumped into the main tank and most of the microorganisms will not survive the trip through the sump. i don't know if that is true or not but i do think it is a good thought. so if you have room maybe try putting a shelf above your main display tank for this fuge to sit on and have it gravity feed back into the display.

[fishfreek]

however the biggest argument is that when the fuge enters into the by gravity it is then being pumped into the main tank and most of the microorganisms will not survive the trip through the sump

IMO this is one argument that is blown way out of proportion. The creatures we are talking about are often smaller than 1/8th of an inch in size. Thease creatures are small enough to get thru a pump with out being shreaded to death.

[tyler]

Originally Posted by fishfreek

IMO this is one argument that is blown way out of proportion. The creatures we are talking about are often smaller than 1/8th of an inch in size. Thease creatures are small enough to get thru a pump with out being shreaded to death.

yeah! if nemo can do it, anybody can!!! :P

[justDIY]

the idea was drawn up for hitsnorth, who wanted to have a refuge off his main sump to keep LR and macro in, for extra filtration I believe.

obvious things like the main drain, main return pump, skimmer, heaters, etc, are left out of the diagram for simplicities sake

whether or not hitsnorth is concerned about his micro organisims getting shredded, I don't know but I would have to agree with fishfreek in that a lot of very small creatures can easily make it through a pump, otherwise the entire tank would be void such things, since they all eventually get would get shredded by powerheads and other pumps

[kidafius]

I feel silly asking, but how do you nourish the critters in your fuge?

[justDIY]

the bigger ones eat the smaller ones, and the smaller ones eat microscopic bacteria / algae / fish waste.

[EMS503]

I just put a pinch of flake food in my refugium. Just make sure it goes to the bottom, You can also use algae waffers.

John