I have a 125g with 25-30 different corals and a sailfin tang, two firemouths, and three blennies, and two bubble tiped annemonies, (which both have split so now it's four). I have just purchased a 250g tank, which I intend to set up come Janurary. I have a 135g tank with a long scratch in the front and back so I want to use it to build a refuge. I also want to build an area for future propagating of some corals. Can anyone direct me in the right direction and how to set this up? Thanks for all info.
Building a Refugium? Need advice
- Thread starter Reefer Ron
- Start date
Normally a refugium is made up of a number of partitions:
- to receive water from the main tank
- to build a sand bed or to keep coral etc (basically the refugium itslef)
- one to hold a pump to return the water to the main tank
The sizes of these are up to you and each will need a partition. The partition size between the reception area and the refugium and the refugium and the return will determine the height of water. The area with the return pump will fluctuate as water evaporates etc. I would also split the partion between the reception area and the refugium into two with a horizontal split about 6 inches from the base to encourage a flow across the sand bed.
You may then need to give thought to skimmer, Kalc stirrer etc - do you want these to sit in the sump somewhere ?
I also added another totally sealed chamber at one end; into this goes fresh water from my Ro unit, this is then dripped into the sump using a level controller.
Just one thought do you have a hole in your main tank or are you going to siphon the water out ?
There are plenty of sights and links from this site for designs - have a quick search.
- to receive water from the main tank
- to build a sand bed or to keep coral etc (basically the refugium itslef)
- one to hold a pump to return the water to the main tank
The sizes of these are up to you and each will need a partition. The partition size between the reception area and the refugium and the refugium and the return will determine the height of water. The area with the return pump will fluctuate as water evaporates etc. I would also split the partion between the reception area and the refugium into two with a horizontal split about 6 inches from the base to encourage a flow across the sand bed.
You may then need to give thought to skimmer, Kalc stirrer etc - do you want these to sit in the sump somewhere ?
I also added another totally sealed chamber at one end; into this goes fresh water from my Ro unit, this is then dripped into the sump using a level controller.
Just one thought do you have a hole in your main tank or are you going to siphon the water out ?
There are plenty of sights and links from this site for designs - have a quick search.
Yes I have overflow boxes built into both my 125g which has been up and running for 10 weeks and is doning fine. I also have a new 265g with built in boxes that I plan to connect together with the rest of the system. A total of 525gallons. The problem I also have is the 135 (fuge) is behind the wall and is slightly lower than the two show tanks. I will need to pump the water to and from. I can't seem to find a sight with a design! Thanks for the feed back, it is much appreciated. Thank You!!
Mmm interesting problem, can the fuge be floor mounted to give you at least some gravity flow, Ive thought about having a sequence of pumps with float switches but its getting messy....