I need some help with creating a fuge for my system. I have a 135 oceanic dual overflow. Protein skimmer and return pumps are in the sump but there isn't any extra room in it for a fuge. I'm not good with plumbing but would like to know your suggestions on how do this inexpensively. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If more information is needed let me know. Thanks in advance, Scott Whited
James built a fuge to fit next to my sump. It was a very tight fit but his design worked perfectly. It's about 7g, has about 4" of oolitic sand, and a simple daylight CF "twist" bulb. I use a Maxi-Jet 600 to pump water in and it flows back via the overflow with the slots cut it it. James did a great job.
Thanks for your response. I think this may be what I need. Who is James and how can I contact him? Thanks again, Scott
I designed my refugium as a compartment in my sump on both my 125 and clam tank. If I had it to do again I would have them in a seperate tank - not neccessarily larger or smaller just seperate from the rest of the sump. I get alot of macro algae particles breaking off and getting to my becket injected skimmer and the light bleads out of the compartment onto my skimmer causing algae growth in the skimmer. Non of this is a big deal I just wouldn't do it that way again. I will try and post a picture tomorrow.
What size fuge do you have room for? When we did Joe's it was a tight fit so we went custom acrylic. If you have room the cheapest route is a 10 gallon tank. We could drill it and put a similar overflow system to Joe's special fuge.
refugium Thanks everyone for replying. Much appreciated. I have room for sure for a 10 gal. possibly a 20 under the stand next to the sump. What would the cost be? Could someone help me put it in as I have zero experience in plumbing? Thanks in advance, Scott
A 10 gallon tank can be had for $15...maybe even less. A 20 gallon will be higher, maybe $30-40. Those are guesses so call your favorite pet store to get prices and sizes. I bet we can hit ShillerStreetReef up to drill a hole for a bulkhead. Other than that you need a 1" bulkhead, a bit of PVC pipe and fittings. And of course a light. Both Joe and I use a cheapo shop reflector from Home Depot and a daylight compact flourescent bulb. Also you will probably need a little wooden stand to get the fuge high enough to drain back into the sump. We can slap one together out of scraps. You will also want a timer for the light, we like to run ours in a reverse schedule to the reef. So the fuge light is on at night. We can slap some cheato algae in there and that will help with nutrient export and will help keep your pH stable since it is on the reverse schedule. For the feed to the fuge you can either go the way Joe did and put in a Maxi-Jet 600 or 900 to pump water from the sump to the fuge of you can go to the trouble of splitting your existing drain and feeding it that way. I think Chris said he was going to check out your reef soon so he can probably offer a recommendation. I would be happy to make the PVC strainer for you and help install the fuge. So on the cheap... Tank $15 Bulkhead/PVC $15 MJ 600 $15 Light $15 Timer $10 All prices are approximate as you can guess! But it will be around that range, probably a bit cheaper.
Sounds like James come up with a good list. The only thing I would add is this... If you get a 10 gallon tank make sure it is an "All Glass Aquarium" brand because they do not use tempered glass for the sides. You want to avoid Marineland, TopFin (just a ML rebrand), and Regent (just a ML rebrand for Walmart) for 10 gals. As for 20 gallon tanks you can pretty much go with any brand.
Refugium Help I REALLY appreciate all of your help with this and it is so nice to have people who care and are willing to share their advice and skills. It can be quite daunting when you are not expereinced or mechanically inclined. That said, I will wait for Chris to drop by next week to get his final opinion and then get back to you on the when, where, and how. Thank you all so much! Scott Whited
update Haven't hear from Chris yet but as soon as we get together I'll get back to you all. I have found a 20 gallon long and regular all glass aquariums. I think I'll go with the long in case in the future I decide to make it a frag tank as well. I think I'll go with a cheapy light to start with and then upgrade later down the road when I put frags in it. Any thoughts pro or con for the 20 gallon long or reg?
Fuge Well, I saw Chris at Northside's open house the other day and he has been just too busy to stop by and check out my setup. I am trying to get in touch with a person who has a 30 gallon long already drilled so hopefully I can get that. I measured and I will have just enough room with a few inches left over once I get it in put in next to the sump. Won't leave me much room for any storage but I would rather get the biggest I can get to fit. Anyway, if anyone is interested in coming by sometime I would really appreciate some outisde on my setup. Thanks!
I can swing by at lunch some time to check your setup out. On that 30 gallon make sure it is drilled toward the top of the tank and not on the bottom. You will need the drain to exit the fuge on the top of the tank so that you can run it into the sump without having to drill the sump too. PM me your number and I will give you a shout. James
bump. sewhited - How did your sump/refugium turn out? Do you mind sharing a few pics of how it looks and how you connected your main display to it? I recalled this thread from reading a couple of weeks ago, but couldn't remember where I had seen it. I just posted a DIY Forum thread about doing this for nano tanks and would be interested in hearing how it went for you.
He is on vacation right now, I am on call for his tank. In case his help has any problems taking care of his tank.
Refugium Hey guys, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was in Hawaii on vacation and have been running ever since I returned. Since I posted the orignial thread I have purchased a 30 gallon long to use as a refugium but it has been sitting in the basement for way too long because I haven't had the time to put it in. I have plans to finish everything this fall. I have all the parts I need just need to put it all together. When I get it done I'll try and post some pics. Thanks for asking
