Macnreef..as requested, my fuge

[Hinecken]

I plummed the main tank into the refugium today, everything works great and my house doesn't flood....WOO HOO, now I gotta save for my lights....

[Hinecken]

side view of plumming from main tank

[Caesar]

nice how big is that refugium, and isn't there too much flow in the refugium chamber

[Hinecken]

the refugium is 5.5 gallons, with about 1/5 divided out for the pump/sump chamber. Actually water moves quite slowly through it, the pump I picked, Dolphin DP270, is only moving about 50 GPH at a 4 foot head hight with 2 90 degree elbows.

[J-Bass]

What brand/model hang-on overflow is that you're using? And can you please post a pic of the return to your main tank? I'm trying to decide if I should temporarily take down my 29gal and having it drilled so I can use my empty spare 20gal Long as a sump, or just use a hang-on overflow box. Want that extra water volume and hate having heater, skimmer, and powerheads in the main tank! Plus as a place to banish any misbehaving fish.

[MacnReef]

Sweet fuge!!!!

I will probably set-up a similar fuge for my 10, not sure yet. I can prolly get a overflow box for cheap but that will take up a lot of space in my 10. I would get a 10g drilled from wetdryfilter.com (pictured on their special request page), but don't want to take down the tank I have now to set it right back up.

Thanx

[trailguide]

nice looking set-up.

 

what did you use to divide the tank with?

[ekudl]

Why is an overflow box needed with a Sump/Fuge under the main tank?

[MacnReef]

ekudl Why is an overflow box needed with a Sump/Fuge under the main tank?

 

Well, that is easy enough to answer.......how else would you get the water down the the sump, with a pump? if you dont use something that syphons or overflows, there is too many risk of flooding.

[ekudl]

I see , thanks MacnReef.

[Hinecken]

to divide the 5.5 I purchased a sheet of lucite from Home Depot. I would post a picture of the return to the main tank, but there isn't much to see, it's simply a hose from the pump that goes through a check-valve and into the tank. The overflow box is a DIY jobbie that I purchased off of DJM in the classifieds section of this website. It took a little modification to make it more stable, but it works fantastic now.....

 

Thanks for all the nice remarks guys......any more questions?

[trailguide]

thx for the reply....but how thick is the sheet and how abd what did you use to attach it?

 

thx again.

[Hinecken]

the sheet is 3/16 or 1/8 thick, I can't really remember, and I used multiple applications of aquarium silicon to attach it. the hardest part was cutting the lucite. I found it best to score it with a utility knife and then to break against a straight edge. The rough edge left can be taken care of with a decent file.

[ekudl]

With this type of refuge, would you also put in your skimmer in there as well? and if so would you put it into the sump part or the refuge part? Where can one purchase these HOB Overflows? Is there a good diagram of one around so I can copy it?

[Hinecken]

I no not use a skimmer at all, but you could hang one off of the fuge. I do not know of anywhere that you can purchase an overflow small enough to fit in a nano. It has to be a DIY job. All you need is one small specimin cup, one large, one u-tube, and one bulkhead fitting. Take a look at any premade HOT overflow and copy the design. It's very simple.