Freshwater Refugium?
- Thread starter Killabeas
- Start date
In a refugium, whether salt or fresh, plants (regular plants or macroalgae) are grown in a remote location, so you can enjoy the benefits of plants (nitrate reduction, etc.) without having the plants in your main tank. Saltwater refugiums are also helpful for culturing copepods and such. The sump in the freshwater and saltwater tank are going to do the same thing in either setup. It's just a larger area in which to store biomedia. We used one when our RTC was in a 125, and it worked very well. He was about sixteen or eighteen inches when his pond was ready, and that's a pretty big bioload, but we never had problems with ammonia.
If I were to put bio balls in the first chamber would it have an effect, even though they will be submerged the whole time? Also I looked it up on the ADHI-USA web site, this is sold as a refugium. With that being said what would be the best way to make this the primary filter for the tank? Bio balls in first chamber, then plants and over hang filter, then a bag of carbon in the last overflow? I will probably be starting the set up tonight, so any suggestions would be great.
assuming your talking about the right side of the picture.Killabeas;3482738; said:
it might break up the splashing probably make it quieter, i wouldnt consider it particularily beneficial to the biological filtration like a wet/dry, just added surface area. most people put sponges in it anyway just as good surface area. i would definitely use a prefilter like a micron sock or sponge on top if you use bioballs, to allow easy cleaning and prevent you from scoping out the bioballs.
i would recommend against you trying to push a high flow rate through the refugium as it may rip out some the plants clogging the pumps.
tscharf;3482720; said:
it is possible and redundant, now if you mean a wet dry and a refugium yes it is also possible. but i would want a bigger sump to do it as the tighter you pack stuff in the harder maintenance is.
Well in saltwater, may people have the first chamber in their sump as a refugium,
like a deep sand bed, live rock, and micro algae with a high powered light on top of it.
like a deep sand bed, live rock, and micro algae with a high powered light on top of it.
btw you i guess you can set it up so water comes in one the left then over the middle one then through the baffle on the left to a return pump.
however i like the idea of Ting the overflow off to the right side so you can control the turnover rate of the refugium separately, from the turn over rate of the sump.
however i like the idea of Ting the overflow off to the right side so you can control the turnover rate of the refugium separately, from the turn over rate of the sump.
The way that is plumbed I would say it goes left to right.
I'd go with prefilter socks on the pvc inlet because you aren't going to be able to obtain much mechanical filtration. The way it's set up I'd say it could become an ineffective filter because your not going to be able to guide the water over the bio balls. The water is just going to skim over the top of the first 2 chamber into the last chamber and back into the tank.
If those baffles are acrylic I'd drill holes at the bottom the middle chamber on the right and add a bit to extend it to a bit higher than the next baffle and drop that one to the bottom. That way you can turn the middle chamber into a wet dry and be able to push the water through the media.
I'd go with prefilter socks on the pvc inlet because you aren't going to be able to obtain much mechanical filtration. The way it's set up I'd say it could become an ineffective filter because your not going to be able to guide the water over the bio balls. The water is just going to skim over the top of the first 2 chamber into the last chamber and back into the tank.
If those baffles are acrylic I'd drill holes at the bottom the middle chamber on the right and add a bit to extend it to a bit higher than the next baffle and drop that one to the bottom. That way you can turn the middle chamber into a wet dry and be able to push the water through the media.
You probably won't get it set up tonight mate. I'd give it atleast a week to make sure you get it right. Mine took me around a month to get running smoothly including flow rates, media the works. Here are some links I used when researching for mine.
Sump Melevsreef.com - DIY Glass Sump & Refugium Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Do It Yourself: What's in YOUR Sump? YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1 YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 2 Overflow for Wet/Dry http://www.melevsreef.com/make_a_sump.html DIY Overflow Box R. Durso's 180g - Sump Pictures 4*18*18 Tank 80$ - Aquarium Classifieds. FOR SALE. - Aquarium Classifieds - Boronia Aquarium Interactive Pages - Message Board - Yuku DIY PVC overflow (no box required) Some may not be suitable for what you've got coz I'd imagine if it was a an ex reef it'll be drilled.
Sump Melevsreef.com - DIY Glass Sump & Refugium Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Do It Yourself: What's in YOUR Sump? YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1 YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 2 Overflow for Wet/Dry http://www.melevsreef.com/make_a_sump.html DIY Overflow Box R. Durso's 180g - Sump Pictures 4*18*18 Tank 80$ - Aquarium Classifieds. FOR SALE. - Aquarium Classifieds - Boronia Aquarium Interactive Pages - Message Board - Yuku DIY PVC overflow (no box required) Some may not be suitable for what you've got coz I'd imagine if it was a an ex reef it'll be drilled.
