Is it better to have the flow through the refrigium slow

[ninjamini]

I always see people use big pumps and lot of flow from the DT to the refrigium. Wouldn't it be better for the water to move slow through this system?

[wizsmaster]

fuge flow should be slow.

[thirty5]

Yes you should have slow flow. I am currently building a 90 gal fuge for my 175 DT. I will have a sump and then running off the sump will be the skimmer and the fuge. If you run the water through the fuge too fast it will not do any good. YOu want the water to be in there with the macro algae and sand and such to let them do their job and take out the stuff they are supposed to!

[0 Agios]

I don't think its beneficial to have slow flow throe the refrigium.
1) nitrates will not have a difference as far as input and output, its not like nitrates will enter 20 ppm, and come out 5 ppm, I think nitrates are reduced uniformly and increased water flow is actually beneficial by moving things around and not letting debris settle in the bottom.

[tperk9784]

I don't think flow through your sump should be any faster than the amount of water your skimmer can process per hour.

[wizsmaster]

are we talking about SUMP, or REFUGIUM here?

[TorryRx]

Another issue with water flowing too fast through the fuge or the sump is the production of microbubbles. I slowed the flow from my tank to the sump/fuge, and it made an enormous difference.

[0 Agios]

Originally posted by TorryRx
Another issue with water flowing too fast through the fuge or the sump is the production of microbubbles. I slowed the flow from my tank to the sump/fuge, and it made an enormous difference.

Thats a totally different issue, we are talking about a fuge, the sumps flow is uncontrollable it has to be what it needs to be.

[jman77]

" Thats a totally different issue, we are talking about a fuge, the sumps flow is uncontrollable it has to be what it needs to be."

That's not always true, it depends on the design of the sump/fudge. A good example is my sump/fudge..... water goes from the tank->skimmer/ skimmer section->fudge->return compartment.

So whatever flows through the sump, flows through the fudge.

[ReefWreak]

tank->skimmer/ skimmer section->fudge->return compartment.

You must have high, but delicious phosphates...

[ReefXpert127]

I just have a separate pump to add flow into the refuge.

[tperk9784]

Originally posted by 0 Agios
Thats a totally different issue, we are talking about a fuge, the sumps flow is uncontrollable it has to be what it needs to be.

Why would the flow through a sump be uncontrollable?

It seems people in this thread have different definitions of sump and refugium.

I tend to use the term loosely to represent both I know some people do have them separate but I think that is more the exception than the rule.

I have not read anything that shows macro algae absorbs nutrients any better at a faster or slower water speed. If someone has data that shows this either way I would be interested in reading it.

So if water speed past the macro algae is a non issue as I believe it to be then why push more water to the skimmer than it can process at any given time?

[Sk8r]

If your flow is too slow, cheato won't grow, so I've heard. Mine is fierce, coming off a 15 foot gravity drop. I route the flow from the skimmer, major source of microbubbles, back through chamber 1, with a big wad of cheato in chamber 2 that acts as a filter sock, so no microbubbles get to chamber 4 where I have both skimmer pump and return pump.

[jman77]

"
tank->skimmer/ skimmer section->fudge->return compartment.



You must have high, but delicious phosphates..."


O....their extremely high, since neither my Deltec AP600 skimmer, nor the 20g fudge/DSB full of chaeto lit by 130w can keep up with the 58g display. ... (read this in a sarcastic tone ) lol


btw, my sump/fudge\dsp is around 29 gallons.... this is for a 58g display as pointed out above

[Bullredchaser]

Water flowing slow through the refugium leads to red slime and detritus build up on plants.The dirtier the plants the less light they recieve the slower the growth.The biggest failure on refugiums is that there under lit.For your information chaeto is found in Florida Bay in 3 to 7 feet.So they need intense light. I've seen alot of refugiums where the plants did not grow and the owners believed it was because the tank was nutrient poor.As soon as the light intensity was increased growth literally exploded.You dont have to take my advice but this is coming from over 60 refugium sales this year alone and all are succesful according to customer feedback.Larrys experience as a distributor for EcoSystems refugiums put him in contact with hundreds of refugium owners from the IMAC shows to AquaZoo in Germany.He found the people that had success with refugiums all had good flow,intense light,if they ran a skimmer ran it in front of the plants to keep them free of detritus and kept from skimming phytoplankton,copepods,etc .Also running filter socks help to keep the plants clean.Supplementing Iron seems to improve growth and definetly make the plants greener and more lush.I've also fished for bonefish on the flats enough to know where the sea grass grows there is high flow with clear water and where there is slow flow you have no grass and high detritus build up with less clear water.

[Husky_1]

What is considered appropriately high flow for a sump? 60x water volume in sump? Higher/lower?

[Bullredchaser]

Model
Ecosystem Aquarium
Filter Box Refugium size (About 8 inches of refugium box size does not have plants but baffles ,filter socks,and pump space)
*Flow
(Gallons Per Hour)
Tank
Size (Gal)
Miracle
Mud

2410
24L x 10W x 12H
600-800 GPH
40 to 65
10 lbs

3012
30L x 12W x 16H
800-1000 GPH
75 to 95
20 lbs

3612
36L x 12W x 18H
1000-1200 GPH
100 to 135
30 lbs

3616
36L x 16W x 18H
1200-1500 GPH
150 to 240
40 lbs

4822
48L x 22W x 20H
2000 GPH
300 to 500
60 lbs

7222
72L x 22W x 20H
2000 GPH
500 to 1000
120 lbs

[Husky_1]

Thanks for the info.

[AquaKnight407]

This seems to be something fairly common. This thing is, you don't want high flow through the fuge, it helps to have decent flow in the fuge, (i.e. adding a powerhead or 2).

That's the main issue with inline fuges in the sump (after the skimmer, before the return) is that you can't control the flow through the fuge. The best way is to have the return center, fuge last, buy a larger return pump, t the return line and feed the fuge that way. Basically a recirc fuge and by adding a ball valve you can control the flow through it. Then add some powerheads and you're good to go.

[jman77]

" is that you can't control the flow through the fuge."

Depends, I've got my return T'd off with that line running into the fudge. ... i've got great chaeto growth, and as far as junk building up on the chaeto...who cares...that stuff gets chucked into the compost bin when I do the monthly trimming....

I've got a 20L on the outside screened porch that i use to keep blue legs, or other things i collect. It gets the afternoon sun, and is packed full of healthy green chaeto.... the only water movement it gets is from a single small airstone.

[AquaKnight407]

You stopped a sentence or 2 short.