fuge flow

[riche]

My sump has the skimmer in the drain section (left chamber of the sump) Then the middle chamber is the return pump, and the right chamber is the fuge

It was plumbed to have a hose come off the return and dump into the fuge.

Well I dont have that set up any more, so I need to get some flow into the fuge.

Would I be better running the discharge from the carbon reactor into the fuge for flow, or should I have a small powerhead/pump in the fuge area to get flow?

 

[Brew12]

My sump has the skimmer in the drain section (left chamber of the sump) Then the middle chamber is the return pump, and the right chamber is the fuge

It was plumbed to have a hose come off the return and dump into the fuge.

Well I dont have that set up any more, so I need to get some flow into the fuge.

Would I be better running the discharge from the carbon reactor into the fuge for flow, or should I have a small powerhead/pump in the fuge area to get flow?

My preference would be a separate pump to go from the skimmer section to the fuge. You could use the carbon reactor but my preference would be for the dirtiest water possible to go to the fuge.

 

[riche]

Ok I ran a line from the skimmer section direct to the fuge area Like @Brew12 suggested. I still don't think Im getting enough movement, as the chetto is just sitting there and not moving. I want it to move more so it will start to help with nutrient export. So Would it be better to add a powerhead in there and take the pump out of the skimmer section? It also seems the water isnt turning over in the fuge, its obliviously moving as its going into the return section but it seems stagnate

 

[MSOEME2009]

I run a small power head in mine (Sicce nano stream 250 GPH). Works well and keeps detritus from settling. My tank flow goes through my refugium however, but still seemed too slow for the chaeto. You want contact time with the water with the refugium. It's not too powerful and doesn't blast the ball all over, just gives it a slight tumble.

 

[MrPike]

If you can tee off your drain thats good, as long as you don't have microbubbles popping and getting all over your light. Not too sure how you have your sump setup, but the trouble with putting a pump in the fuge is the intake will clog with chaeto quickly, id probably pump from one side of my sump without algae to the side with algae and get flow that way. Or just don't worry about it, I have seen what appears to be completely stagnant refugiums just explode with chaeto growth. If it dies, perhaps use a pump and see if it helps.

 

[Greybeard]

Chaetomorpha doesn't necessarily need to spin...

For many years, the 'standard practice' was slow flow through a fuge. More contact time, more nutrient uptake, less turbulence for micro fauna to deal with. That's pretty much what you've got now, and it works just fine.

When Triton came out, they want 10x tank turnover per hour, all running through the fuge. Seemed weird to me, but when I set up my new system, since I was planning to go the Triton route, I did as they suggested. I'm no longer using Triton, but the only real change I've made, aside from switching to different additives, was to bump my return pump down a bit. I'm getting something like 7x tank volume per hour through the fuge. I have to say, it's working pretty darned well. Probably better than any of my prior systems that used a refugeum. I'm running a mix of Chaetomorpha and Gracilaria macros, and a better light source than I've used in the past, as well... 2x 24" T5 daylight.

Variety is the spice of life... I don't think what you're doing is wrong, and it wouldn't be wrong to increase flow. I'd try and base your decision on how well the tank is doing.... is the macro having the desired effect? Is the Chaetomorpha growing as you would expect?