Can/should I build a refugium inside my 55g (non-display) tank?

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Land

Registered Member
Jan 27, 2012
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Long story short, I have a 75g and 55g hooked up to a 20g sump (no, surprisingly they don't overflow if I shut both return pumps off), and neither of the tanks really have anything other than live rock in them at the moment. That part's a long story. But I've been trying to add a refugium to my system for forever.

There's an assortment of things I think would be problematic with most typical solutions (clearance for a hang-on refugium, expensive/too much flow to replace sump with one with a refugium, difficult to plumb a second sump).

So I was thinking: can I empty out the 55g, get a sheet of glass or acrylic, and partition off one side of the tank to use as a refugium? And I guess either drill holes through it so water can pass through, or raise it slightly above the water level and add a pump so water will gravity feed back into the tank.

Not really sure how lighting would work, though. 21" seems kind of deep, and I have a 48" 2x54W T5 fixture that I can change the bulbs in but can't exactly cut in half.

Thanks for any input. Didn't seem like a good idea to rush into this without getting some advice.
 

khmerspec

WanaBAhReefer
May 17, 2008
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Sacramento, Ca
www.5linx.net
Real Name
Van
Wow, sorry that no one responded to this in so long. I used my 55gallon as a refugium for a while, and it works just fine.

What I did was I used plexiglass that extended all the way to the top, and then cut 1/4" vertical holes where I want the water to start draining. The other baffles would be just as a regular sump's would be, coming up and down for bubble traps. I'll see if I can find a picture.

Iphone pics 040.JPG
 
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