HOB Refugium questions

[yOyOYoo]

Hey anyone have an Aquafuge HOB refugium? How do you guys like it?

 

I'd like to set one up on the back of my JBJ nanocube and sort of treat it like extra water volume sump/refugium type thing.

 

But I really don't want to have to drill into my tank. Is this type of HOB refugium just plug and play? So basically the pump pulls water from the tank into the fuge, which just flows back into the tank? Any chance of overflowing problems?

 

I wanna put some rock rubble and sand into the back, maybe some hardy macro algae, and my 3 sexy shrimp, since I love sexy shrimp soo much but they're seriously buggin my corals by always perching on the polyps. Would the sexy shrimp be safe in there and could I trap them there without worryin about them getting sucked into the tank?

 

im just so confused about this "hang on back" refugium and how the flowing works.

[mogurnda]

I use a 12" Aquafuge on my 20. As designed, there is a Rio in the main tank pumping water in, and it flows out via a siphon. There are 2 baffles, one about 1/3 (of the fuge height) high to keep the sandbed/rubble away from the intake tube, and another about 3/4 height to separate the outflow chamber form the main part of the fuge.

I worried that the siphon would fail and cause a flood, but it's easy to modify as an overflow. I also run it off the closed loop, to avoid having another powerhead in the main tank.

I don't know if this makes it more or less confusing. I can post pics if you want.

The sexy shrimp will probably stay put, since they would have to go over the high baffle to get out.

I use a 13W PC over mine, and get hefty chaetomorpha growth.

[Kool-cat]

Measure the length of your tank and get the correct size cpr aquafuge. If there is a power outage some water will go back into the main tank till the aquafuges water level is the same as the main tanks. I got no problem with my cpr aquafuge.

[AReeferIsExpensive]

mog, i would love to hear details or see pics about how you modified your aquafuge......

 

both the siphon failing and the visable powerhead bother me!

 

i dont know what "I also run it off the closed loop" means also..

thanks!

[mogurnda]

Here's the way I use it.

I don't use the powerhead, and there's a control valve on the input that I closed.

I have a closed loop, using an external pump to draw water from the tank and circulate it. There is a T that sends part of the water to the fuge.

The siphon outflow has a tube on the inside that can be removed to make it into an overflow.

I'll try to post a few pix, if I can find them. They exist, but I have since reformatted my hard drive.

By the way, it may just be easier for you to come down and have a look. I'm pretty close to the beltway. PM me if you're interested. You have to promise not to laugh at the tank, though.

[mogurnda]

Here are some photos, which may help. They are from last year when I was trying ulva. I like chaetomorpha a lot better.

 

First, the inlet. The black U-tube at the right is coming up from the closed loop. The black tube attached to the fuge itself is the original inlet, which I use simply to hang the fuge on the tank.

 

 

Second, the view from the top, with water flowing out of the outlet. Originally, there was an L-shaped tube that fit into the outlet to make a siphon.

 

 

Another view of the outlet.

 

 

I think they work fine for people most of the time without modification. I just hate powerheads in the tank, and don't trust siphons, and this was easy to do.

[bgraber]

Why dont you put the heater in the Fuge?

[mogurnda]

"Why dont you put the heater in the Fuge?"

 

First, because there really isn't much room, with sand, rubble, chaetomorpha and an exiled fanworm in there right now.

 

Second, I'm not sure that the flow through the fuge is adequate to maintain the tank temperature.

[Kelpie]

I wish I could see your photographs.

[mogurnda]

Looks like the site has crashed. We'll see if it goes back up soon.

[Kelpie]

okay I thought the aquafuge used a pump for the return. This is gravity return like the CPR fuges.

[Roscoe B]

mogurnda, when you say the black U-tube at the right is coming up from the closed loop. Where exactly is that? I ask because I have an aquafuge and want to get rid of the powerhead. I also want to eventually incorporate a sump under the tank.

 

My plan is to use an external pump or overflow to get water from the main tank to the sump where I would have a Aqua C Urchin skimmer, heater and maybe some live rock. Then pump water from the sump to the refugium and main tank.