Refugium Tank

[Redfish]

Since I am having a hard time getting the new sump that I want, I went to plan B, it will be alot cheaper. Went to Lowes today and got a heavy duty plastic tub to make a refugium out of that. I got the tub and all of the hard ware except the part I needed most, a thru hull fitting for the tub to drain water out of the tub back into the sump tank, will try and find that tommrow. I have one thing I am not to sure about though. What I was planning on doing was to take the pump that pumps water thru a plastic hose from the sump, back up into the tank, split the line and add another line to feed the refugium, one pump two hoses. I looked at the pump but it hasn't any numbers on it showing GPH so I am going to have to check with Gerwin to see what kind of pump I have and see if he thinks it will do both jobs. I could just buy another pump for the refugium feed line. But everything that I have read says it needs to be a small pump as I have heard you don't want alot of water movement in the refugium, I guess I could put a ball valve in the line so I could restrict water flow. Figured the money I save with this refugium over the new sump will be about the same as the new skimmer will cost me, told my wife its like getting a free skimmer lol, she wasn't buying that. I am still going to have to add to my baffle height in the sump that I have, its only 6 inches deep in the return section, I need 8 to 10 for the new skimmer, do ya'll think I could silicone another piese of glass or acrylic to the baffles I now have and raise the height to the 10 inch mark, I could just replace the baffles but that would require me to be without a sump for a few days, don't want to do that, but adding to the baffle height would also mean I would be with out a sump till the sealent dried? I got the BRS GFO / Carbon reactor hooked up yesterday and its working fine. The calcium reactor that I want is a GEO 618. Premium Aquatics wants $770 for the whole set up, I have found a used one for $400, whole set up. I will buy that one if it looks pretty good, but I don't have much faith in it being a decent one. I looked at the BRS web site for Calcium Reactors, they only have two listed and are out of the single chambered ones. Someone told me I could save alot of $$$ on this by buying a two part dosing pump and a kalk stirrer instead of the Calicum Reactor, what do ya'll think? I don't know anything about dosing pumps. The reason I wanted a Calicum Reactor was so that I could hook up a PH probe to the C. Reactor and also to a controller, like a Neptune Aqua Controller. I want to end up with alot of SPS corals in the tank and I don't want to go cheap with the calcium equipment and lose alot of corals because of not getting a reactor, or because of a PH problem, unless the dosing pumps will do the job with no worries. Anyone have any thoughts or advice on my plans, feel free to post them, need all the help I can get.

[Sandy]

This is about the time I would scream........ GERRRRWINNN!!!

[Redfish]

I got the over flow plug installed in the refugium tub today after work. The fitting came with a rubber gasket but I also used a bit of silicone on both sides. The only thing that I am worried about is that although the tub is pretty heavy duty, I am worried that adding water to the tub may cause it to bulge and cause water to leak around the over flow tube, we will see, if it happens I guess I can but a 20g tank and have a hole drilled in it and use that. Gerwin, I am going to come in this week and pick up a pump to move the water from the sump to the refugium, if you have one. I bought a ball valve to put in the line to the refugium to ajust the water flow.

[Redfish]

Well it leaks, figured it would. Gerwin I have a 10 gallon glass tank, the ones you sell in the store. Think you can get a hole drilled in the side for me? If you can, I will also need a thru hull fitting for it. The 10g tank ought to be big enough for the refugium?

[Gerwin]

yes we can

[Gerwin]

Since I am having a hard time getting the new sump that I want, I went to plan B, it will be alot cheaper. Went to Lowes today and got a heavy duty plastic tub to make a refugium out of that. I got the tub and all of the hard ware except the part I needed most, a thru hull fitting for the tub to drain water out of the tub back into the sump tank, will try and find that tommrow. I have one thing I am not to sure about though. What I was planning on doing was to take the pump that pumps water thru a plastic hose from the sump, back up into the tank, split the line and add another line to feed the refugium, one pump two hoses. I looked at the pump but it hasn't any numbers on it showing GPH so I am going to have to check with Gerwin to see what kind of pump I have and see if he thinks it will do both jobs. I could just buy another pump for the refugium feed line. But everything that I have read says it needs to be a small pump as I have heard you don't want alot of water movement in the refugium, I guess I could put a ball valve in the line so I could restrict water flow. Figured the money I save with this refugium over the new sump will be about the same as the new skimmer will cost me, told my wife its like getting a free skimmer lol, she wasn't buying that. I am still going to have to add to my baffle height in the sump that I have, its only 6 inches deep in the return section, I need 8 to 10 for the new skimmer, do ya'll think I could silicone another piese of glass or acrylic to the baffles I now have and raise the height to the 10 inch mark, I could just replace the baffles but that would require me to be without a sump for a few days, don't want to do that, but adding to the baffle height would also mean I would be with out a sump till the sealent dried? I got the BRS GFO / Carbon reactor hooked up yesterday and its working fine. The calcium reactor that I want is a GEO 618. Premium Aquatics wants $770 for the whole set up, I have found a used one for $400, whole set up. I will buy that one if it looks pretty good, but I don't have much faith in it being a decent one. I looked at the BRS web site for Calcium Reactors, they only have two listed and are out of the single chambered ones. Someone told me I could save alot of $$$ on this by buying a two part dosing pump and a kalk stirrer instead of the Calicum Reactor, what do ya'll think? I don't know anything about dosing pumps. The reason I wanted a Calicum Reactor was so that I could hook up a PH probe to the C. Reactor and also to a controller, like a Neptune Aqua Controller. I want to end up with alot of SPS corals in the tank and I don't want to go cheap with the calcium equipment and lose alot of corals because of not getting a reactor, or because of a PH problem, unless the dosing pumps will do the job with no worries. Anyone have any thoughts or advice on my plans, feel free to post them, need all the help I can get.

whew thats alot of writing and I am not sure what part is questions and just thoughts, I have you drawings at 2 different acrylic builders as we speak btw

[Redfish]

Just an update, Gerwin is having my 10g QT Tank drilled and I stopped by Lowes and got everything to get it up and running when the tank comes back.

[Redfish]

Its up and running. I think my Nitrates are starting to fall already

[Sandy]

Yeah!!! It's nice when things start working out.

[Redfish]

Gerwin, I got to thinking, do I need some sort of clean up crew in the refugium? I was thinking if I didn't add a clean up crew, I might get an algae problem. I put about three or four pieces of live rock in the refugium also.

[Gerwin]

maybe a snail or 2, and a few reef hermits but I would not load up crazy in there, keep them full so they do not turn on your goods you wanna keep

[Redfish]

I didn't feel like there was enough water movement in the tank, so I took the HOB filter that came with the 10g tank and am using that for the extra water movement, without the filter. Seems to be working fine.

[Gerwin]

check your pm pete

[Archie]

be very CAUTIOUS about using these tubs for aquaria purposes. these tubs can not endure the time and hostile environment of a salt water aquarium. seen way to many of these tubs leak over the years, as the result of fatigue and even creatures eating through the plastic.

[Redfish]

This was just a quick fix to get a tad more water movement in the refugium. I will get with Obeewan, and see if he can get me something else for water movement. I feel pretty confident that the refugium will now keep the Chaeto alive and hopefully grow, we will see. If I had to do it all over again, I think the drain hole back into the sump needs to be bigger and then I don't think I would need anything to move the water around in the Refugium Tank.