Refugium addon

[NewbReefer]

So since i've had my tank up for a year i haven't really done anything with the current sump or refugium. my current setup has a small refugium with macro algea and a 3 inch sand bed, hardly deep enough to act as a DSB. So i thought i would come up with a simple way to add a larger refugium and DSB and have an area for copepods to flurish. this is what i've got so far. The tub on the left is the current sump with macro algea that i will be taking the macro algea out of and moving it to the tub on the side that will act as the new refugium and DSB.

I do have a couple questions, does anyone know of a site that sells some good DSB material? I dont know if the stuff my LFS sells is good or not. The next question is, if i add a new DSB will it cause a cycle in the current setup, if so i assume i could just cycle it like i would a new tank and then hook it up to the current sump. also do copepods require some light? i know they only come out at night so would i still need a light over the copepod farm?

Please give me any pointers or tips that you might see :)

 

[cthegame]

Im not so sure about this setup. If a pump will push the incoming water into the right tank, how will any water get into the return pump area? what if the pump you have in the first (right tank) fuge is stronger or weaker than the incoming water from the DT? I have a feeling this will cause a flood.

You need to have only 1 pump involved. Probably best if you drill the tanks and connect them that way instead of using a pump.

But this is just a guess for me so someone might be able to help out better.

 

[NewbReefer]

The pump taking water into the right tank is only taking a portion of the water flowing through the copepod farm. All the water flowing through the current setup does NOT HAVE to pass through the refugium i will be adding on. The pump could be as simple as a power head pulling water from the copepod farm into the refugium which requires less flow than a sump may need and as the new refugium fills up it will overspill into a bulkhead leading it right back to where it came from.

Hope that makes sense. I wish i could animate it :)

 

[reeffreak]

The left sump is the current sump,correct?
If so,the skimmer would be more efficient if it can draw raw water before the refugium.

I see no problem with your design(you even have the right sump elevated,good job there).You could always split the drain if you don't want to use a second pump to feed the right sump,your choice.

What did you mean by DSB material?
Use all dry sand and you will not see any spike.Oolitic aragonite which is very fine is what I would use.Rock rubble and smaller crubbled piece of live rock on top for shelter for copepods,maybe even several pounds of Garf grunge would be nice too.I'm not sure if the grunge and live rock will cause a spike but dry sand will not.

 

[NewbReefer]

thanks for the tips Reef. the left sump is the current sump, unfortunatly the protein skimmer is already there and the other side already has a small DSB from when i started the tank. i wasn't awear when i built the sump that you want the protein skimmer before everything else, eventually i will probably make me a new acrylic sump unless i can find a away to move the skimmer. What do you think about putting it in the addon i plan on making?

 

[cthegame]

He has a similar setup like mine but what is confusing me is the second pump. Its pumping all the incoming water into the the right tank. How will water get into the skimmer section? May be very little at a time but would that be all that efficient? Im just a little confused. What if the pump sucks the water faster than that incoming water from the DT?

 

[cthegame]

OH WAIT! NM ha ha ha i figured it out. Sorry for the confusion. I feel like an idiot! I'm a little slow as you can tell. Someone hand me a lolipop.

 

[NewbReefer]

:chair: lol glad you caught on. The water does not have to pass through the refugium and The pump leading to the refugium only takes a small amount of what is passing through the sump. and refugiums tend to actually do better with a slower current than a overflow will dump out so that the macro algea has time to take out the nutrients in the water passing through it. so this addition will allow me to control the flow of water through the refugium.

Reeffreak, is what i meant by DSB material, was what kind of fine sand works good for a DSB.

 

[cthegame]

You pretty much have the same setup as mine except water enters from my DT to the fuge and from fuge to the sump on the left. I put a baffle on the fuge for the incoming water so the water just flows over slowly on the surface. The whole second pump thing threw me off a little. but i get it now.

 

[NewbReefer]

yeah i've pretty much got it all layed out now i just need to decide if im gonna put my skimmer in the new refugium. gonna go look for a good sized and sturdy tub tomorrow also gonna gonna start working on my auto top off.

 

[cthegame]

Well you could always switch the current sump and flip it and make the sump area the fuge and the skimmer can stay put and the new fuge can be the sump since you havent done it yet...what ya think? is it drilled yet? or you wont drill?

 

[NewbReefer]

i could drain it and redo the baffles and flip it around, but i've got a 3-4 inch sand bed thats been growing bacteria for a year now that i don't wanna have to disturb if i can help it. i would have to take the sump completly out and redo the entire thing, which isn't the bad thing, the bad thing is i've got a tank relying on that current sump and refugium.

 

[fatman]

I buy fine aragonite sand from Marine Depot for $20 per 30 pound bag. It is kind of hidden on their site as of course they are trying to move the more expensive sand if they can. It is CaribSea Aragamax brand. The sump refugium looks fine but like mentioned the raw water should go to the skimmer first even though most skimmers can not handle the full flow through the sump they should be preferably offered raw water. Lots of people (when space is not a problem) have a tank (container) just for their skimmer(s) where all water flows before going to the sump/refugium. If you intend on moving an already established sand bed, move it in layers of an inch or so each. Make sure the layers go back in the same order IE. top on top, bottom on bottom. This will minimize the amount of die off of beneficial bacteria. New sand put in a new tank as you show will slowly become a live bed with no nutrient spikes being caused. You can spied up this process by adding a few hand fulls of aged sand to the top of your new sand bed. Three inches deep is at the bottom edge of being considered a deep sand bed with fine sand. A Little deeper is definitely better.

 

[NewbReefer]

thanks Fatman i've heard caribsea makes a good fine sand, and im gonna need to put in another order for marine depot soon so i'll get a few bags then.

Yeah I think im gonna have to add a seperate section in the new refugium for the skimmer and if i have the pump pulling water from the the first section in the sump and pumping it into the new section where the skimmer is it would be getting raw water.

i plan on a 5-6 inch sand bed depending on what size tubs i can find tomorrow.