Please look over my Refugium idea, newbie here

[francis]

Hi everybody, I wanted to try and make a refugium out of my 10 gallon tank and I was hoping somebody with some experience could look it over for any flaws.

I wanted to set up my 10 gallon above my display tank and have the return just be a overflow drilled into the side of the tank because this seemed like the safe way to prevent danger from a power outage as well as allowing me to avoid trying to sync a return and suction pump to each other. The three questions I had, if somebody could please help answer were;

1. How can I drill a hole into the glass? I read that non-tempered glass could be drilled with a diamond drill bit but how can I find out if my glass is tempered or not? Is there another method to accomplish what I am trying to do?

2. What pump would I need for my initial pump that would push the water from my display tank to my refugium? I only know that the refugium flow should be slow, please correct me if I am wrong. I also wanted to point out I do not have any of those (accrylic) divider walls I see in other peoples tanks, is it okay without them?

3. Is my overall layout sound? Or is there a drastic flaw that I have failed to see :T

If anybody could help me with this I would really really appreciate it! I included some pictures to present the idea I have in mind.

The paint sketch is pretty much what I am imagining, while the images are a representation of what I would like it to be. Thank you very much

 

[David S]

1 Is their a manufacture mark on the tank to find out that way?
2 The pump size depends on what size pipework you are going to use as this is what restricts the flow,Also you need to take into account of head loss.If your just going to put chaeto in the fuge then you need a moderate flow not slow.If you use 3/4" pipe than anything below 600gph will be fine but the upper range maybe to powerful for a small sump so you will need to throttle the pump down(which helps prolong the pumps life).What size DT have you.you dont need dividers for just chaeto.Most people have the sump below as it doesn't matter too much about micro bubbles but it does in the DT,also its a place to hide equipment.
You will never be able to sync a return and supply pump,no-one does it that way.The way your doing it is the correct way but most people put the fuge under the dt.10g is a bit small for a fuge

 

[francis]

Does micro bubbles negatively affect the display tank? I plugged the little airhose into my filter just because I liked the effect but I believe they are making the "micro bubbles" you are talking about

Oh okay thank you! I have a 40 gallon display tank. I also have a 20 gallon tall tank but I didnt want to use it because I was thinking of using gravity to return the water. If I use the 20 gallon and it sits on the floor then I would need a siphon overflow box on my display tank and a return pump from the fuge to the tank? And I also just want some macroalgae(?) to help with nitrates and nutrients.

What would be an easy approach to this? I am mechanically slow so I was trying to go with an easy approach. Thank you very much for taking the time to help me!

 

[huma-huma]

I like the idea of an overhanging fuge because if done properly and actually installed nice, it could make for an interesting tank display, but weither you go with an overhead or below the tank fuge, you are gonna have to have 2 pipes in the dt no matter what. Have you looked into hob overflows? If you haven't I'd check into it because a lot of members on here that don't have drilled tanks run them. Imo having a pump in your dt to pump water up into an overhead fuge is gonna be kinda bulky and look out of place in the tank. Another route is drilling, there's a simple method of using putty to form a small "barrier" around the hole you want to cut, you simply fill it with water, place some metallic tape on the inside of the tank and use a diamond bit to drill it....I've heard the worst part is the fear of breaking the glass....but I don't know if that method is used on tempered or not. To see if your tank is tempered, a pair of polarized sunglasses will tell you. A tempered tank will have some checkered design when looked at in good light. A non-tempered will look normal

 

[francis]

So I found this forum diy overflow!!!!!!!!! check it out!!!! where it looks like he used pvc pipes as a cheap and effective overflow. I am looking into this because it would save me another $30-50 buying an overflow box on craigslist. I think I understand the basic concept that in the event of a power outtage the water would remain in the tube at the display tanks water level (not being able to go over the rim and down to the sump). I am also thinking that one piece of pvc pipe that is at the back (with no cap) is to restart the syphon by manually sucking the air out correct? And at that point the water would never come up that high because of the outlet that leads to the sump. What do you guys think?

 

[francis]

changing directions thanks!

 

[David S]

One big problem with these diy overflows is that you can't see into the top of the syphon,remember the water flow going through the syphon needs to be strong enough to move air bubbles all the way through and down to the sump,if your pump isn't strong enough(or the overflow pipes diameter is too large)then bubbles will stay at the highest point of the overflow and keep getting larger until it causes an air break and a flood.

 

[mrbee2828]

But doesn't the check valve at the top (which is also used to start the overflow) there to allow air to escape? I'm also thinking that I could hook this up to a power head and constantly pull air right?

 

[francis]

Hi, this thread is a bit old but mine is running with no problems ever since this thread was made. I don't have a check valve either, I just siphon the air out the very first time by manually sucking on the "C" pipe (lol). after that once the siphon starts its good to go. I'm "somewhat" sure there might be a small air bubble still present just because my water flow is strange, like it gushes out in bursts. But overall the thing always continues siphon every time I shut off the return pump and turn it back on. Any other questions just ask and i'll try to help

 

[mrbee2828]

I just got mine together today. I'm planning on converting that 10gallon into the filter system. I'm painting and installing the plumbing tonight on the actual tank. The overflow here is 3/4" which is supposed to have a faster flow rate and then the thought is doubling it to move more water while keeping the speed.

Initial PVC Overflow Test - YouTube