Anyone have success with the Refugium bucket method ?

[jmichaelh7]

Anyone have pics of their bucket in the refugium? This is suppose to prevent spill and algae growth on skimmers etc

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Like a refugium in a bucket?
D

 

[newjack]

Abe from @Coral Euphoria uses them on all his systems with looks like good success

 

[jmichaelh7]

Like a refugium in a bucket?
D

Yes

 

[jmichaelh7]

Abe from @Coral Euphoria uses them on all his systems with looks like good success

I first learned about it from his video on YouTube.
I’m trying to figure out if there is a return pump on the inlet

 

[Coral Euphoria]

I first learned about it from his video on YouTube.
I’m trying to figure out if there is a return pump on the inlet

Yes I have a separate ~300gph pump on the inlet. Whether you have a separate pump or have it tee-d off your return or something lese, I don't think it matters much.

The bucket fuge is just one clean way for nutrient export and maybe even grow some critters in there. The main reason I use and love it is because the alternatives are not ideal. Either they cost too much or there is light bleed which causes algae problems in the sump.

Just think about the alternatives:
Chaeto reactor: Expensive and overall less volume than a bucket. A bit more work to trim the cheato.
Sump with dedicated fuge compartment: Light bleed causing a nasty looking sump with algae growth in other compartments.
Algae scrubber: Expensive. More work to harvest. Also generally more complicated.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Yes I have a separate ~300gph pump on the inlet. Whether you have a separate pump or have it tee-d off your return or something lese, I don't think it matters much.

The bucket fuge is just one clean way for nutrient export and maybe even grow some critters in there. The main reason I use and love it is because the alternatives are not ideal. Either they cost too much or there is light bleed which causes algae problems in the sump.

Just think about the alternatives:
Chaeto reactor: Expensive and overall less volume than a bucket. A bit more work to trim the cheato.
Sump with dedicated fuge compartment: Light bleed causing a nasty looking sump with algae growth in other compartments.
Algae scrubber: Expensive. More work to harvest. Also generally more complicated.

I agree man. The sump on the 425xl reefer is too small for a 5 gallon bucket so there I’m struggling

 

[fishybizzness]

Yes I have a separate ~300gph pump on the inlet. Whether you have a separate pump or have it tee-d off your return or something lese, I don't think it matters much.

The bucket fuge is just one clean way for nutrient export and maybe even grow some critters in there. The main reason I use and love it is because the alternatives are not ideal. Either they cost too much or there is light bleed which causes algae problems in the sump.

Just think about the alternatives:
Chaeto reactor: Expensive and overall less volume than a bucket. A bit more work to trim the cheato.
Sump with dedicated fuge compartment: Light bleed causing a nasty looking sump with algae growth in other compartments.
Algae scrubber: Expensive. More work to harvest. Also generally more complicated.

I built one after seeing your video as I had a spare kessil 160 fuge light and have been very satisfied so far! Best invention ever! I couldn't fit it in my sump so I plumbed it outside. I have open access behind my sump so it works fine. I feed it off of a manifold on my return line and it seems to be working good. What flow are you running yours at? Only issue I have is that the bucket i used is a taller skinny 5 gallon compared to a regular 5 gallon. I just ordered some heavy duty black food grade buckets off of Amazon and will be changing to one of them.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I built one after seeing your video as I had a spare kessil 160 fuge light and have been very satisfied so far! Best invention ever! I couldn't fit it in my sump so I plumbed it outside. I have open access behind my sump so it works fine. I feed it off of a manifold on my return line and it seems to be working good. What flow are you running yours at? Only issue I have is that the bucket i used is a taller skinny 5 gallon compared to a regular 5 gallon. I just ordered some heavy duty black food grade buckets off of Amazon and will be changing to one of them.

So I can run off my spare manifold that I never ran one of my reactors on. This will work?

 

[jmichaelh7]

I built one after seeing your video as I had a spare kessil 160 fuge light and have been very satisfied so far! Best invention ever! I couldn't fit it in my sump so I plumbed it outside. I have open access behind my sump so it works fine. I feed it off of a manifold on my return line and it seems to be working good. What flow are you running yours at? Only issue I have is that the bucket i used is a taller skinny 5 gallon compared to a regular 5 gallon. I just ordered some heavy duty black food grade buckets off of Amazon and will be changing to one of them.

Your outlet is it just running back into the chamber in your sump or reconnected to pvc pipe

 

[fishybizzness]

Its just running back into the sump. I have a main return that empties below the water and a backup emergency drain that sits a few inches above the water so that i can hear it if starts running.

 

[fishybizzness]

Another thing, i used bulkheads for all the lines as i was more comfortable with those than uniseals with it being outside the sump.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Another thing, i used bulkheads for all the lines as i was more comfortable with those than uniseals with it being outside the sump.

Well I got my chaeto yesterday.

my Kessil light,

just need to find a bucket that is thin at HD or Lowe’s because the 5 gallon is not going to fit.

You said bulkhead? What are the options if I find a bucket today.

 

[fishybizzness]

Bulkheads or uni-seals.

 

[fishybizzness]

I used 1/2" feed and 3/4" return with a 1/2" emergency drain.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Where did you get your hoses and connectors . I think I want to use less pvc this time

I used 1/2" feed and 3/4" return with a 1/2" emergency drain.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I used 1/2" feed and 3/4" return with a 1/2" emergency drain.

This is probably a dumb question did you need to drill a hole in the bottom to prevent the bucket from floating

 

[fishybizzness]

Where did you get your hoses and connectors . I think I want to use less pvc this time

Home depot.

 

[fishybizzness]

This is probably a dumb question did you need to drill a hole in the bottom to prevent the bucket from floating

Its outside of my sump so i don't think that would end too well! lol

 

[fishybizzness]

Most of the stuff i already had lying around.