Refugium thoughts. (1 Viewer)

[ReefMaster32787]

Hey people I am looking for some thought on a refugium design. I am planning on building a 29 gallon 3 chamber refugium/sump with 1" bubble traps. The camber's are as follows.
1. Water inlet(with sock) and skimmer
2. Bubble trap
3. Refugium area
4. Bubble trap
5. Return pump/considering taking half of return area for a 5x6x12 ATO reservoir(like a gallon of R/O maybe),or a frag rack.
I can't not figure out what the difference is between water flow going over the first chamber wall or under the first chamber wall, does anyone know?

The first picture shows water going over the first wall (right to left). The second is fed from the bottom(left to right)
View attachment 1104 View attachment 1100 View attachment 1101 Thanks Zack

 

[Mark L.]

I'm only seeing 1 pic.

 

[Diesel]

What is your DT volume?

 

[ReefMaster32787]

It is a 90 gallon with about 50-60 Lbs and about 80lbs of live sand, these are rough estimates.

 

[flipside]

I'm only seeing the first and last pic. The first one could be more efficient by reversing the baffles of the bubble trap section. Bubbles don't like travelling downward... pretty simple really... The last one is more efficient, but three baffles for a bubble trap is better than those detrious traps (sponges) that are inserted in them. Some people like them, but I've just known them as troublesome.

Several ways to skin this cat, but all basic principles still apply. Bigger = better, and don't overthink your design. Keep it simple, especially if you are designing the sump to fit under your tank.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ReefMaster32787]

Thanks for your responses, I believe I almost have my design down. Just a few more questions regarding refugiums. One being, I have also seen the refugiums where the chamber wall breaks for about an 1" then continues upward. Would this be a wise option to keep my refugium water from going stagnate and my detritus to buildup? I will attempt to insert a picture to show you what I am talking about. I am also curious about the substrate options, what would you guys recommend? I have seen the Fuji Mud and similar products, is this mud necessary? And lastly is there a simple cheap light that would be sufficient. No need for a Mini Coralife T5 right?

Picture attempt- View attachment 1122 let me know if it worked.

 

[alexrex20]

I don't see the point of the break in that panel before the refugium. The water level in your refugium will be determined by the height of the panel where it overflows into your bubble trap. Also, I would want the substrate in the refugium to be at least 4 inches to take advantage of a deep sand bed and nitrate-consuming anaerobic bacteria.

The changes I would make are to:

1. Remove the break in the panel before the refugium. Just lower the panel height altogether.
2. Extend the bubble trap panel a little deeper because you'll be surprised how quickly the water will flow through the sump and pull the bubbles down past your bubble trap.
3. Lower ALL interior panels to at least 1 inch below the top of the sump. This will allow spillover from chamber to chamber if something gets clogged. Otherwise, it will just spill over the sump and onto your floor.

You do not need a fancy light on your refugium unless you plan on growing some frags down there. I just use an old desk lamp with a decent reflector and a 26w compact fluorescent warm white bulb. It grows my mangroves just fine. Many people use heat lamp reflectors or portable work lamps (clamp-on style, $10 from Lowes) with a warm white CFL. They also make CFLs that are designed to grow plants, but in my experience a normal household lamp will work fine as long as it's not a cool white.

 

[alexrex20]

Also, are you putting a skimmer in the first chamber? If so, you will want to lower the exit panel (it sets the water level in this chamber) and match it to whatever skimmer you plan on using. Also, make the chamber as small as possible, so that you can make the return pump chamber as large as possible. This is more important if you do not use an auto topoff (ATO) because the larger return pump chamber means your water level will drop more slowly due to evaporation.

 

[ReefMaster32787]

I think I agree with you on the first chamber I didn't think about removing the break completely. That would increase water flow through the refugium, possibly to much? On the bubble traps I am thinking about a (3 stage?) bubble trap, the plan is that the trap will be a total of 1" wide and the middle panel a 1/2" off the bottom. Is that to much or not enough? The tank will be 12.5" high so I am planning on putting the top's of the panels at 10.5"(a 2" leeway). And yes I plan on a skimmer going in the first chamber and I will adjust the height with a stand. I will also add a separate ATO system. Comments on substrate? Thanks

 

[alexrex20]

I just use crushed coral in my refugiums. Nothing special. Most all of it was just leftovers from other tanks that I had sitting in buckets in the backyard. I don't get too crazy with my refugiums though. I only grow mangroves and chaeto in them, then dump some live rock in the other chambers if there's space.