sump dilemma

i have a 55 gallon reef running for well over 1 year. its been running on a DIY 10 gallon sump and its just not doing the work. one major problem with upgrading my sump is that under my stand i only have 12 inchs in width to deal with and i have an annoying wooden bracket going down the middle so i dont have much options about putting an sump inside the stand. so i was wondering can i put the sump on the floor next to the tank? i dont feel like making my own sump, so i was wondering what brand makes the best quality sumps? im restricted to around a $250 budget. if it is possible to put the sump next to my tank (i dont care about noise or looks outside of the tank) should i put the intake and outtake on the same side or should i do the outtake closer to the sump and the intake on the otherside fartherest from the sump; vice versa. any help or ideas? also how necessary is an refugium?

 

You can put the sump next to the tank. I've seen sumps that were in the basement piped through the floor. The only limits are where you can run plumbing and pump size.

The return and overflow should be away from each other. Besides that you can put them anywhere that's convenient.

A refugium isn't necessary, but it's good to have one if possible.

 

I agree with the above post. My sump is in the basement directly under my tank, my refugium is in my basement 10 feet away from my sump (due to after thought and configuration). $250 is a tight budget – I would urge you to reconsider making something yourself, if you don’t want to deal with acrylics (which is cheap and easy) you might be able to utilize another 10 gallon and double your sump size, or use a Tupperware container that might fit.

As stated a refugium is not necessary but often times sought after in certain applications, bio load and your maintenance schedule. Keeping up with water changes generally speaking resolves the need. Of course a coil denitrifyer is an opinion if you are after nitrate elimination and space / cost is a consideration. I utilize my refugium for nitrate elimination, pod production and PH stabilization and other benefits but these were my original targets