Refugium/Sump DIY Build

All,

Soon, I'll be upgrading my current 30 gal tank to a 65 gal tank and I'll be using my current tank as a refugium/sump system.

I've attached a schematic of my initial design idea and would appreciate any feedback from members who have experience with this sort of thing.

A couple details I've yet to investigate is what flora/fauna to place in the refugium section, and also what lighting would be both affordable and effective for supporting the refugium.

any other comments on potential problems, or improvements to the design would be very helpful.

The design starts with a compartment that is shared by by protein skimmer and the inlet sock filter. From there the water enters some filtration media (mechanical, chemical, and biological) before going through the bubble trap and into the refugium. I have a baffle at the inlet of my refugium section to discurage water from simply passing over the top of the compartment without mixing well. Also the baffles in this region will be black to discourage light penetration and the unwanted growth of algae in areas outside the refugium. The water then passes through a bubble trap into the sump return section. I've placed some course filtration media on the down flow here to minimize bubble formation if the level has become a bit low. The sump return section has about 2.5 gallons of evaporation tolerance.

http://postimg.org/image/5plbbmvy1/

 

I would lower the last baffle going into the fuge to a bit over the substrate you are putting in there. Other than that, Bump.

 

Looks like a good design. I assume you are using a HOB skimmer because thats what you have available at the moment. You may wish to leave some space for an in sump skimmer in case you decide to upgrade in the future, however you may be able to get the room in the future by eliminating the filter sock as some people do. The black glass is a nice idea but you will most likely will get light spill over depending on what you choose to go with. A lot of people use a CFL bulb with a clip on hood. Cheap, easy and works well. Be sure to attach build pics along the way!

 

@ mdbostwick - I was worried going too low with that baffle may stir up my substrate in the area and even carry smaller particles into the sump pump. If you dont think this would be an issue, it would be nice to lower it to promote better mixing in the Fuge.

@ dienerman - I've got a Coralife 125g super skimmer which is capible of in-sump operation as well as HOB. I went with HOB because there will be enough room in the stand and it will provide additional volume to the system. (the thing holds at least 2 gallons it seems). Does the system work better if operated in-sump? We've decided to go with a clip-on LED light kit with 6500k spectrum for the moment. we may upgrade this at a later point.

Thank you for your comments, this is my first attempt at this and all advice is well appreciated and considered.

I'll be sure to post build pics as they happen, we are getting the new tank either next Tuesday, or a week from next Tuesday and once we have the tank on hand we will begin construction on the stand. I'll post a pic of the current setup as well so you can see what we're starting with

One new addition to the system I've decided already is to add an auto top-off float valve in the sump return chamber that has 5 gallons of fresh RO on gravity feed. This will allow lowering the last baffle and have a constant small drop-off into the sump chamber to reduce bubble formation.

Also, i chose postimg as the image hosting site because it was the first one i found in the Google search, is there a better one I should be using?

Thanks,
Akuno

 

I have a refugium mud in mine and it doesn't stir at all. The water won't gush through due to the flow being dispersed along the entire opening, so you shouldn't get any stir in it.

I don't know about the difference in HOB or in sump so long as you have a good skimmer. I would try to make sure your skimmer will fit inside just incase you find out different.

The ATO is a great addition and IMO a must. As far as pictures, you should be able to hit the image button next to the smilies icon and get the image right in your post.

Hope some of this helps.

 

I have added the modifications to the diagram.

The refugium inlet baffle is as low as i can go with the current material i have on hand.

I have also developed an electric circuit that will trip the sump pump off on low level and keep the pump off until I reset the circuit with a momentary contact push button. While the sump pump is tripped off a buzzer will activate and an air pump will begin to pump air into the display tank to maintain oxygen levels.

 

I'd get rid of thev filter trays, bio bals, etc.; the rest looks good though.

 

what are the pro's can con's of removing the filter tray section? I need that space for the protein skimmer anyway. I would figure that some biological and chemical filtration would be beneficial.

Thanks for the comment Todd.

 

IMO, it's like the older style wet to dry filters.
They usually end up producing higher levels of undesireable nitrates.
Live rock, macro algae(I'm partial to chaeto), protein skimmer, and
good water to start with is/should be all you'll need.
I filter sock you change every few days is usually acceptable, if you like cleaning them often.
I'm currently using a mesh bag istead of a filter sock- with some GAC and some Phosguard in that bag though. Lot's of ways to do this, and many of them work well.

Here's my sump/fuge/frar area- it's in my basement though.

 

Thanks for the advice Todd,

I have all the material for the filter section. I think I'll go ahead and install it as I have drawn, but it's easily done away with if I decide it's not necessary. It will just become a wide bubble trap to ensure no micro bubbles make it through from the skimmer.

Also, it sounds like activated carbon is not a bad idea? what about the phosban?