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Cultivated Reef

pros or cons on under main tank fuge


sjatm941

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ok , im still planning my 20l nano but if got a couple of answers needing attention . im going with a fuge but havent decided on a cpr hob or diy 10gallon that will be housed under the main tank . main consern is using a pump for intake and return (no over flow) . i would be glad to here from the more experience on this as i wish to make the 10 gallon under main tank refugium but want to make sure it will still be a benificial addition to a 20l nano . otherwise ill just do a cpr hob .

 

please help

 

 

sean

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both will do a good job with nutrient export, but the overflow/HOB style will do a better job at getting pods into your main tank, since they wont go through the blender to get there.

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I hate to say it, but does it really matter if pods get diced before being shoved into the main tank? Their little corpses will float around until some hungry creature of the deep eats it, right?

 

V

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pod puree!

 

You wouldn't think so, would you? Not everyone has the overhead room to run a 'fuge, so underneath is out of necessity. A CPR HOB 'fuge - or something similar - would be a good alternative. Although then you give up the volume to a larger underneath set up.

 

ken hits it pretty square. What primary purpose are you shooting for? Feedings? Filtration? Or a combination? Use what works best for your setup. If you have the overhead space, go upstairs with it. If not, either underneath or HOB. The benefits of any of them outweigh any cons of each.

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the corpses of little pods ran through the blender dont always make it into fish's mouths. I have fish that wouldnt eat a pod if it flew into their mouths unless hungry...sometimes it is better if they make it alive so they can stay alive until eaten, which may take a bit. If your fuge has enough in it going through the pump it would seem to be a pollution problem almost...but I imagine plenty of other critters would eat the pods as well.

 

You know what we need? A scientific study to see if pod transfer by pump is harmful or no big deal. All I can say is that in my case i tend to run small sponges on the intakes of all my pumps which would prevent pods getting into the main tank if it werent for above tank fuges. Not to mention it aint just pods, cuz in my fuge I have quite a population of mysis that I can see overflowing into the main tank every so often...they would just be bottom food if they went through the pump.

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There actually have been studies done on impeller shear. There are some pumps with an impeller design that is supposed to reduce impeller shear. However the study actually showed that its a sized based thing, the smaller the animal the greater the chance it had of surviving. IMO having the refugium below is OK. Youll still get an influx of small critters. And the below tank refugiums iv seen are probably more effecient at filtration than an above tank. Many above tank refugiums are just fed with a powerhead sucking sub surface water. For those using surface extracting pre skimmers way to go. Thats the most effecient way to collect and remove noxious wastes.. The wastes of our tanks collects at the surface and filtration effeciency can be dramatically increased by channeling the thinnest layer possible from the surface of your tank. If u cant put it above, put it below, a below tank fuge of bigger volume outweighs the gravity return of the CPR HOB refugiums any day IMO.

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thanks all for all the replies . sound like both have their advantages . ill probably go with a 10 under the 20 , but well see . Ive got a bit more learning to do and lights , pumps , plumbing parts etc... to buy . anyone know what sizes of plexi ill need to make the 10g refugium ? I'm sure i could measure but i bet theres some plans out there some where . tIme to search. :)

 

gb

 

sean m

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I prefer to use three tanks in a filtration setup.

On the new system I have the main tank, plus an even larger sump below it that contains a plenum. I have two return pumps...one is connected to the main tank with a SCWD, but the other pumps right up to a fuge positioned above the main tank on the wall. This way the main tank gets good skimming, and the fuge remains an overflow style...and is easier to see/acess being positioned on the wall (30"L x 4"D x 12"H).

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my ref is under and i planted it with a pod breeding kit from ispf in only 3 months there are so many pods anywhere you look either in the ref or the main tank you see them running around and the only way they got to the main tank is through the pump.

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sry for double post. also you don't want to have any fish for atleast a few months to let the pods get established and reproduce alot before they can all get eaten

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