Refugium under the main tank???

[Chromis]

Is this at all possible?

 

I've only seen mention of refugiums being at tank level or higher. Obviously this is because we don't want to have our pods sent through the powerhead or pump.

 

So if i did have the refugium under the tank I could still benefit from the job the macro-algae does and maybe I'd get some plankton but would loose the pod benefit. Is there any conceivable way to get pods from a refugium below to a tank above without damage to them?

[glazer]

hey Chromis...

 

Well I personally wouldn't say that having a 'fuge overhead was strictly for the safety of the pods... it is in my opinion just incredibly easier to plumb the thing that way.

 

I think the pods are a little tougher than what you or a lot of people may think. I have had several different setups where the little buggers had no way to get back to the main tank without takin' a trip through the "blender" and they seemed none the worse for wear, hehe.

 

If you go with a below sump/fuge... if you have a real good population of pods there you can always take a small real porous/um, holy piece of rock and switch it back and forth from the display to the sump.

[Fant]

There are several other things to consider though. The purpose of a refugium and the macro algae is for nitrate reduction. To run this effeciently you want a slow turnover rate. So if you go through with the sump/fuge then dont plan on getting rid of your powerheads and using a massive return pump for circulation. Keep the powerheads and use a small pump with a slow flow. Amiracle has a decent cheap small overflow for around 40 bucks you can find it at thatpetplace.com. I have a 25 gallon sump/fuge on my 30. And once i reduced the flow through it, it actually works rather well.