Question on building a refuge.

[lReef lKeeper]

sounds like it will work but why not just add more baffles instead of drilling all those holes ?? here is my sump and it took me all of 20 minutes to build. the flow rate is high but the current is low enough to let some frags do a little extra growing before they get to the main tank ...

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sorry it took so long ... had to take new pics
sorry the last pic is so blurry looking, it is coralline growning on the glass.

[jojo22]

I thought about that but I have no exp. with lexan, and the tank is already pretty small I don't want to waste any space.

[lReef lKeeper]

let me know how it turns out and maybe some pics.

[dakar]

How big is your sump/refuge going to be for total volume? Any addition to the total volume is always helpfull, though pushing too much water thru too small a refuge/sump can result in microbubbles being dumped back into the display without bubble traps set right. Learned that the fun way as well with my nano tank.

[jojo22]

Refuge is about 20 gal give or take. It was a DIY one of the guys at the LFS made but he ended up makeing a bigger one as his tank is much larger than mine. What do you suggest as far as flow rate???

[dakar]

500gph through a 20g tank should be just fine for bubble control.... I found that 600+ through a 10g sump/fuge was pushing the limits for allowing air bubbles to escape before being picked up by the return pump.

There has been some debate of the max speed water should flow through a refugium to allow macros and the like to help take up nutrients and allow detritus to settle... I haven't found any real difference either way fast or slow yet, so long as it's not picking up sand or throwing bubbles it works for me

[lReef lKeeper]

yes Dave, i would say that that is a little overboard. i have about 625-650 going through my 55 reef. that is a lot of flow you had in a 10gal.