12" vs. 18" refugium for 15 gallon

[D McG]

My 15 gallon has been up and running for about a year now but recently nitrates have gone out of conrol, and algae of course. So I am going to add a refugium to help water quality. Since I have limited space I am going with a HOB fuge.

 

The 18" would leave just enough space for a protein skimmer on my tank but I am wondering if bigger is better or should I just go with the 12"

 

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[rehren]

18" all the way. go as large as you can.

[D McG]

Thanks for the input. The 12" does seem a little small to me. Just hope I can find a skimmer to fit in the remaining 6" on my tank.

[Aiptasia]

Some of the HOT refuges are big enough for a small air driven skimmer. You might be able to install a seaclone or similar narrow skimmer along with the refuge, but don't discount adding the skimmer directly to the fuge instead of the tank's edge if the real estate is too tight.

[D McG]

I was thinking about that. Have you heard of others adding a skimmer directly to a HOT refugium? How successful was it? refugium will only be 4-4.5" wide. So you think I should go with the bigger one too? I know it's not neccessary, but I figured it might be easier to maintain a larger one.

[J-Bass]

I think you'd be fine using one of those air driven piccolos or coralife 1 skimmers in the fuge. The bigger the fuge the better so I'd go with the 18".