New reef tank

[pro2k]

I'm starting a 55 gal reef tank and I'm wondering what kind of filtration to get. Wet/dry, refugium, berlin, or whatever..... what do you think works the best with the least maintenance and where can I get it. I'm trying to keep the price down so I want the best bang for the buck! Please let me know what other equipment is essential. Can I put crushed coral as a substrate, leave it bare glass, or live sand? I would prefer to use CC cause I already have that. Where is the best place to buy stuff on the net? THANKS!

[Reptoreef]

Try a rubbermaid sump with a smaller rubbermaid container to put inside(drilled with a few holes on each side) to act as a refugium... get a small mv fixture for the light and some extra macro from a local reefer. Bare bottom or DSB is just a matter of opinion(I like a very fine grain 6-7" DSB). Any submersible pump will do as a return as long as it will move, at least, 10X's the total water volume of the entire system. Cheap, reliable skimmers can be found on Ebay(turbo floaters, etc) or get some plans and build your own.

[pro2k]

Thanks for the info! Is there any plans on the web for a rubbermaid sump and refugium? I don't really know the concept behind it. Last time I was doing tanks, wet/drys were the rage..... Also, what is DSB? IS that Deep Sand Bed??

[Reptoreef]

DSB= deep sand bed... awesome natural denitrification. As for Wet dry... nitrate factories. IMO, no wet dry media and you're good. Of course, now you merely have a sump and can impliment a refugium from there, too. Get ya a copy of Reef Invertibrates by Calfo and Fenner... there's a whole lot of good reading on sumps and refugiums along with other great info.

[dakar]

Sirpat, came up with a great method of using one tub in another and securing them in place with nylon bolts and stuff.... maybe I should walk over to his desk and try to 'persuade' him to post some pics.... hee hee

[bjpembo]

i did something similar to that on my first reef. i took a rubbermaid and cut down the sides so it was about 4" tall and then filled that with sand and put my rocks on that and sat it inside a larger rubber maid and plumbed everything in. worked great while i had it. but i prefer having a tank for a sump/fuge now, i just like to see fromt he sides though 8)

[Reef_Angel]

As I read Pro2k's post's, needs & interests, I see he's found a really great place to hang around. Are you guys thinking the same thing I am? There is so much data in the archives about all of our sumps, and what everyone has done to build them. Repto & Whoyah... maybe you or another volunteer can start a sticky thread about 'past sump ideas, solutions & pictures'. Then everyone can take a few minutes to dig through the archive, re-post their info on the new thread, and help Pro2k out. Who knows, we'll probably be helping out more that one person by doing this. Just an idea for you guys to mull around. You might come up with a better way to go about it than using my plan of action.

Would this be helpful to you Pro2k?? :)

[JustDavidP]

My DIY Sump is on this site....

Just substitute the plexiglass for a breeder tank/rubbermaid box...whatever...

Bottom line... listen to these folks.. no wet media filtration except for live rock, macro, and if you want, live sand. Use a fuge, sump with pump and GOOD skimmer... and you are golden.

Dave

[pro2k]

YES Angel, that would be an awesome idea. It would be interesting to see how everyone else is doing this so I can get ideas on what to do for my tank. I don't quite understand how the water flows through a sump and refugium and pictures and designs will clear it up for me. If I understood the concept behind a refugium that would help as well. Thanks guys! :-D

[FEEDERFISH]

This is a pic of Sump/ Refug out of a 20 Gal. Long, the pump acts as a return + supplies water to the refug thus water spills over the divider back into the sump

[pro2k]

Thanks for the pic. I'm still unclear with all this...... Water comes from the tank into one end of the sump. Does it then go into the refug. until it overflows into the other end of the sump where it is pumped back into the tank? Does it matter how water flows into the refugium? (like does the water need to flow from top to bottom or bottom to top) And what exactly makes up the refugium? (Live sand and algae?) What kind of light would you want to use? Sorry to be such a pain in the ***!! I just want to be clear before I start spending a bunch of money.......

[bjpembo]

the direction of flow generally should be through the macro's before the skimmer so the algae gets the dirty water and is able to get the nutrients. also the flow needs to be slower through the fuge so the algae has time to absorb those nutrients. as for what makes it up, a dsb, a few rocks, and some macro algae, chaetomorpha is about the best because it doesnt go sexual and die. the light on my fuge is a lights of america utility work light, cost me 40 bucks but i believe they can be had for like 20 now. you can get it from home depot. there's a pic of my setup in the other thread which is a bit different than most because my older tank had a 1" drain and a 1/2" return, i didnt want to use the 1/2 as a return because of small size so i decided to use it as another drain, with one going to the sump side and the other going to the fuge side and my return coming over the back.

[Reptoreef]

Here's a quick sketch...

[JustDavidP]

Here's my rig....

Water enters, via the overflow of the 75G Display and then via a "t" and valve set up, is sent on two paths....

One enters the sump nearest the skimmer chamber. The second path is directed to the other side; the refugium. From the refugium, I have one wall (closest to the return pump) with 1/2 inch holes (6) that allows water to return to the rest of the sump, carrying with it, tons of lil' pods and mysid shrimp.

If you have a chance, visit Fenner's site www.wetwebmedia.com and search their FAQ's for "refugium" or "refugia". He and Anthony Calfo have a lot of good information regarding refugiums.

Dave

[pro2k]

Thanks for all the help guys! Great stuff! I guess I should of looked around this site a little more and I would have found a lot of info in the DIY section. But, having said that and after looking and reading I am confused about the whole purpose of a fuge. Isn't it for helping maintain water quality for the display tank? Or is it a place to grow micro food for the other critters? Let me put this way, I'm setting a 55 reef with LR and some easy to keep corals and fishes. Would a refugium be beneficial for my tank or would a different set up be better? If the fuge is the way to go then I was thinking of using a 20L as a sump and fuge. What that be sufficient? A 20L is 30X12X12 just how much of that should be for the fuge? I'm sorry to be a pain in the butt with all this! :-?

[dakar]

Actually a fuge is for all of the things you mentioned, the macro algae assists in a lot of ways, the key is nutrient export, it feeds on nitrates, aids in re-oxygenation, and will also help reduce any phosphates in the water column. As a benefit it will provide a place for other life such as pods to grow for either use as food or whatever. Also adds to the total water volume of the system, so anything bad is further diluted. In all the sump and fuge can only help your total system. Some other benefits can be gained as well, using reverse lighting schemes on the fuge (or leaving it lit 24x7) will help reduce PH swings during when the display lights are shut down.

Hope this helps clear things a little for you.

Personally a sump and fuge is the only way to go no matter what you are keeping, it can't hurt and there are many benefits.

If you can't find the answer to any question, don't hesitate to just ask.... There is a ton of knowledge here, some posted and some not, so the worst thing you can do is post it and end up ultimately helping someone else down the line. No such thing as sumb questions around here.

[JustDavidP]

Yeah...what he said :)

You CAN'T go wrong with a fuge attached. There are plenty of benefits; inclusive of those listed above... we could go on forever...

all the little pods and bugs eat fish poop and left over food, thereby keeping your water cleaner.

deep sand bases in fuges help reduce nitrate...

can also be used (in emergency) as an isolation tank to separate fish. (at that time, it stops becoming a fuge for anything else but that fish)

gives you another area to mix solutions, additives with water and allow for more mix before entering the display tank.

increases oxygenation by creating more "surface space" for the exchange of gasses.

It helps to create a more "rounded" biotope. basically, you have a deep or shallow water reef...and now you've added the lagoon!

and the #1 top ten answer as to "why a fuge"....

It's just frikin cool. I spend hours looking at the life in my fuge. It is somewhat more exciting than my display tank. I actually have a log (yea...I'm a nerd) of the different life in my fuge. It's amazing.. you'd be blown away, but I can tell you that the diversity is in the numbers identified in HUNDREDS). it's like another whole display tank, with neat creepy crawlies.

[dakar]

It's just frikin cool. I spend hours looking at the life in my fuge. It is somewhat more exciting than my display tank. I actually have a log (yea...I'm a nerd) of the different life in my fuge. It's amazing.. you'd be blown away, but I can tell you that the diversity is in the numbers identified in HUNDREDS). it's like another whole display tank, with neat creepy crawlies.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who can waste hours upon hours just looking into the fuge. You should create yourself a blog and record it all for us to see too! hee hee

[JustDavidP]

Will do.. when I'm done with employee reviews etc. It is amazing though. I have 5 different sponges alone in my fuge/sump. Purples, blue, yellow, and the pinapple looking buggers that grow in my skimmer and stuff... just amazing.

Yes... I'm a geek with calloused knees from looking into my fuge/tank at night...

Dave

[pro2k]

Awesome! Thanks! Would a 20 long be adequate for a sump/fuge on a 55? How big should the 'fuge be?

[bjpembo]

as big as you have room for. a 20L should be fine, but a 30L of course would be better because its larger and will increase your water volume by 10 more gallons. i use a 30L on my 75, i wish that i had room for a larger one though.

[JustDavidP]

I have a friend, with a 40 gallon display, and a 100 gallon barrel as a sump with fuge. ANYTHING you can do to increase the water volume is a good thing. If you can only fit a 20 under ...so be it. If you can go larger...do as the Nike folks say..."just do it".

As far as "how big" the fuge should be, in relation to the entire sump... set up your sump dry. Place your skimmer, return pump, heater and anything else in there that you need. Find the best way to position them...and ALL THE REST of the space should/could be refugia. Of course, you can also have above tank or tandem refugia elsewhere now, or later. I'm referring to the newly popular sump/fuge combos.

Also remember, your sump itself, with or without rock/sand/macro is a sort of refugium. I have just as much "life" in those chambers (pods, mysid, worms, even some alga) as in the fuge.

Dave

[Reptoreef]

I have 2 sump/refugiums... 1 houses my skimmer and is kept unlit(lots of sponge growth and barebottom and live rock that then flows into a 3 chamber DSB/plenum/return refugium with the first 2 chambers loaded with chaeto, saw caulerpa, and xenia(lighted opposite of the main display)... the last houses the 900GPH return pump.