Gallons of Refugium per Gallon of tank?

[Nuhtty]

Hey all. Is there any rule of thumb for gallons of refugium per gallons of tank?

I have a 65g with a sump, but it seems the only way I will be able to incorporate a fuge is either with a self-made area in the sump or a few small "in-tank" fuges in the sump. I have also thought of a hang-on fuge to put on the back of the sump.

Anyway, just wondering if a small fuge is better than no fuge and how much per gallon would be acceptable to make a difference.

Thanks

[salty65gal]

I also have a 65 gal AGA and i will be setting up a 15gal sump and another 15 gal fuge soon. I think even a small fuge is better than none. IMO even 3-5 gal fuge with a little flow would work just fine on our 65gals. Good luck!

[barrysalt]

I agree with previoius thread. Rule of thumb is "as big as you can and any fuge is better than none at all" I, too, have a 65 gal tank, but I built a 30 gal fuge out of plexliglass to maximize the space I have under the tank. I partitioned it so that I have live rock and sand and macroalgae in the main section, and the return pump in the last section, with a skimmer (hang on type) also in the first (sand/rock, etc) section. Works great, I use a Home Depot light with reverse lighting periods. LOL.....Barry

[Nuhtty]

Thanks for the input.

I am trying to work it out so there is a 5 gallon fuge. Again, something is better than nothing is my thought as well.

[looser]

My experience is that surface area is more important than gallons. If the purpose of your fuge is to reduce nutrients than amount of light available to grow "weeds" is what really counts. So what you are looking for is a ratio between bio load in your display tank and surface area in your refugium. If you believe gallons of display gives a rough estimate of bioload (notice the big if), and if surface area is a key ingredient to the amount of available light for algae growth. Then its a simple matter finding a ratio that balances gallons of display to refugium surface area. I have had a lot of success with my refuguium so if you want to use my set up as a reference, the ratio would be 1 square foot of surface area in the refugium for each 28 gallons of display tank. So with a 65 Gal tank you would need about 2.5 square feet of refugium surface area to replicate the refugium bio load ratio that has worked well for me. Of course it can't all be surface area because you need some space for the algea to grow so 2.5 feet of surface area only 1/2" deep wouldn't work either. So lets just take a wild guess and say the water needs to be a minium of 6" deep. So any kind of refugium that had at least 2.5 square feet of surface area and at least 6" deep would probably work well for you. Just something to think about. Good Luck.

[Nuhtty]

looser

thanks for the response. I have been calculating SA and total volumes as well.

I am still trying to figure out how this will all work but if I get it to work I will post pics!!

[jamal-188]

Did you ever think of putting the fuge above the tank? It's less attractive but would give you more room and you wouldn't worry about the return pump chopping up all the pods!

[looser]

Nuhtty - Sounds good. I'll be waiting for the pics.

jamal-188 - Great Suggestion!

[Saltz Creep]

I don't think surface area matters unless you are lighting from above. I prefer to light it through the sides of the fuge. I use chaeto and although it floats, 95 percent is still below the surface, so it actually gets far more exposure with side lighting. Mine doubles every couple of weeks.

[jamal-188]

I agree w/ Saltz Creep with the side lighting, especially if you are using chaeto. I have a 56g fuge which is very tall and if I had it lite from the top only a small amount of macro would be getting light.

[looser]

Well I guess whether its the sides, or the top, its still surface area. My only concern with using the side in the calculation is that if other refugiums are anything like mine the sides get completely covered with coraline and other algae so I doubt a whole lot of light would get through. And I’m not about to start cleaning the sides of my refuge. I have enough trouble keeping up with the display tank. But if you think the light would continue to enter through the sides than by all means include the sides in the surface area calculation.