sumps and refugiums

[wingsfan]

I tried this thread in the beginners forums and got 18 reads but no answers,,maybee no one knew for sure or didnt want to offer thier knowledge ,,so i'll try it in this forum ---------------So I've been reading these forums for about a month now and actually thought i was learning something,,,,,,then while trying to explain a little to the gf,she comes up with the question ------what is the differance between a sump and a refugium?, boy did i feel like an ARSE Hole when I didn't know how to explain it to her,,, Can some one help me and her out here? Exactly what is the differance? And i told her i been staying up at night to learn al i can,,,,now she thinks i'm really doing something else on here

??? ??? ???

[pitbullpooch]

a sump is for more water volume.holding your heater thermastat,skimmer or anything else you dont want to see in your main tank also gives you water circalation.a refugium is some times built into your sump.it is used to house live sand,live rock and other things like pods and calupra dont know if i spelled that right.its mainly a safe haven for any thing that might get eaten in your main tank and for nutrients for your main tank.im new so dont know a hole lot but this is about all i know about a rufuge.try to search you will get plenty more info that will help you better.good look.

[pitbullpooch]

sorry you said you did search.oops

[printerdown01]

PitBullPooch got it right: Sump holds water. A refugium is a "refuge" for shrimp and algae (sometimes even fish). It essentially allows things to grow that would have been eaten in the main tank. The quick and dirty way to tell is to look for a light. Typically refugiums are lighted to stimulate algae growth -although I guess that a "cryptic zone" could be offically called a refugium if ya' wanted to push the issue. -hope this makes sense.