How much flow should I have in the refugium?
The flow rate through a refugium is slower than through the sump. By use of a ball valve on the water feed to the refugium, you can set the flow rate to your specific desire. You need to avoid stagnant water, and the surface of the water should be broken slightly to avoid a film growing on the surface. Try to achieve a gentle flow throughout this zone.
Info found here: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
The reason for this is that for your macros and DSB to work and do their job correctly, for one to understand this they need to realise that the export of nutrients and nitrate is not instant, it takes a few moments. so if you lay out your sump with a intake/return/fuge order you then put a "T" fitting in the return line with a ball or gate valve and route that to the fuge, water then goes thru the fuge at whatever rate you have the valve set to allow. Ideally you should have 3-5X turnover. This is enough to prevend any dead spots but slow enough to allow the water to have contact time with the macros for nutrient export and the DSB for de-nitrification. Do a little research on macro's and DSB applications and it will all make sense. If you put LR in your fuge the slower flow will also allow for more an-aerobic areas as oxygenated water will not be forced as deep into the pores of the rock which will also help with de-nitrification.
It makes alot more sence then just going with the flow and setting thing up the way others do, if we all set up our tanks the way everybody else did and never accepted new advances we would still be useing CC and UGF's on our reefs. The ONLY way this hobby advances is thru research and the acceptance of new ideas. So please look into this furthere and make your own judgement call.
By the way the link I provided is write by Marc Levenstein (I hope I spell his last name right) a highly respected hobbiest who has helped co-author many books and also writes and helps produce talking reef podcast. His advice should be taken with the same acceptance as that of Anthony Calfo,Steven Pro and Eric Bornman, as he is just as versed in the hobby his area of expertise just happens to be sumps.
The flow rate through a refugium is slower than through the sump. By use of a ball valve on the water feed to the refugium, you can set the flow rate to your specific desire. You need to avoid stagnant water, and the surface of the water should be broken slightly to avoid a film growing on the surface. Try to achieve a gentle flow throughout this zone.
Info found here: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
The reason for this is that for your macros and DSB to work and do their job correctly, for one to understand this they need to realise that the export of nutrients and nitrate is not instant, it takes a few moments. so if you lay out your sump with a intake/return/fuge order you then put a "T" fitting in the return line with a ball or gate valve and route that to the fuge, water then goes thru the fuge at whatever rate you have the valve set to allow. Ideally you should have 3-5X turnover. This is enough to prevend any dead spots but slow enough to allow the water to have contact time with the macros for nutrient export and the DSB for de-nitrification. Do a little research on macro's and DSB applications and it will all make sense. If you put LR in your fuge the slower flow will also allow for more an-aerobic areas as oxygenated water will not be forced as deep into the pores of the rock which will also help with de-nitrification.
It makes alot more sence then just going with the flow and setting thing up the way others do, if we all set up our tanks the way everybody else did and never accepted new advances we would still be useing CC and UGF's on our reefs. The ONLY way this hobby advances is thru research and the acceptance of new ideas. So please look into this furthere and make your own judgement call.
By the way the link I provided is write by Marc Levenstein (I hope I spell his last name right) a highly respected hobbiest who has helped co-author many books and also writes and helps produce talking reef podcast. His advice should be taken with the same acceptance as that of Anthony Calfo,Steven Pro and Eric Bornman, as he is just as versed in the hobby his area of expertise just happens to be sumps.
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