type of refuge?????

[samson78945]

wut kind of refugium does everyone use?? im planning on getting one asap but want some ideas of wut i should get. i have a 90 gallon tall

[L and L]

I have a 20g AGA refugium for my 100g reef tank. My fuge has live rock rubble, DSB, and caulerpa.

People use whatever they can fit in their house.

Also, my fuge water surface is 4 inches above my main 100g tank surface.... so, I am able to gravity feed into the main tank. I use a powerhead (125gph) to pump water into the fuge and let it gravity feed back into the main tank.

[The Professor]

I use a similar system like double L. My refuge is tied into my sump. It is fed from the sump by a mag 2 with a ball valve, then gravity flows back into the sump. The only downside is you have to fine tune it to avoid micro bubbles.

[L and L]

Nice setup Professor. Very clean looking.

Here is a plumbing schematic for something like that.

[marcwake]

I am doing the same thing as the professor but I made mine using a rubbermaid tub. I have been fighting with the bubbles for a bit now but you can over come that. From what reading I did it would seem the direct overflow into your display is the best system, like double L said he used but was not practacle for me. Anyone know if there are any worries about using a rubermaid tub as a fuge? Hasn't been the best in that you can't look through the sides but not really a functional problem. I am also interested in what people think about DSBs in their fuge? I have done some reading and am thinking of adding one but for now I am just growing macro in there. I have a shallow sand bed in my display for looks. Also what is the general rule for flow in a fuge? I know you don't want lots of flow but how little is good?
Thanks

[The Professor]

DSB's scare me. Make sure you research it well

[cloudjockey]

55 gallon, about 4-5 sand/crushed coral, lots of cheato. I would strongly recommend cheato. Took my nitrates from 60 to close to zero in about 2 months.

[L and L]

My DSB in my 100g reef tank and 20g fuge will turn 5 years old in a month. It's worked great for me. There are some things you should be informed of when you have a DSB (not unlike any topic dealing with aquariums). No sand digging fish.. secure powerheads so they don't fall and blow a hole into the sand.... and there are some others in Randy's article.... but, these two are the main ones you should know.

Professor: DSB's: "old tank syndrome" and hydrogen sulfide are the only things I can think of to be concerned with DSB's. Are you referring to these?

Randy Holmes-Farley's article about Hydrogen Sulfide here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/index.php

Old Tank Syndrome... as far as I know is a talked about problem... but, not backed up by evidence. Randy even mentions it when he talks about his 10 year old tank (although he has 1-2 inches of sand) in that article.