You could put 2 or 3 10 gallons in there if your kinda a handyman. Which I think is really good cause then you could have a designated spot just for the refugium and one for filtration. All you really need for filtration is some poly pads ,carbon & SKIMMER. You already got the rocks. I’m running a 75 with a HOB refugium/skimmer (like cpr hob). I’m trying to figure out how to get a sump under there that way it can catch all the floating debris and skims the water surface. I have a 20long set up the same way as my 75 and it’s having a lot of algae issues since I can’t have tangs in there to eat it like my other one or a sump to keep algae in in a designated area. Take it slow with everything, make sure you have everything you need before you start cause it’s a road trip not a quick ride like fresh water. People say GSP is the easiest thing to care for but my tank wouldn’t except it til it was over a year old (matured) every frag I bought died. So good luck.
Oh this is not my first saltwater tank.... I have 2 others... the only problem is all my other SW tanks are AIO’s so that’s why this part is all new to me...
All I need is someone to say:
This is what sump you need,
This is what pump you need,
This is what overflow box you need
And this is how to set it up....
I’m wondering about running 2 overflow boxes... keep them each about half the size I need....
Then run 2 sumps on each side... again using pumps about half of what I need....
Then I could use one sump for say my filter sock and skimmer
And the other sump could be just set up as a Fuge....
The other problem I’m having is knowing what “extra” parts I need for all of them so I don’t end up with my DT overflowing or my sump running dry....
I have to remeasure (I did it in the dark lol) but I have found quite a few “cube” sumps that I would only have to use one overflow and one sump but they all seem to measure like 1” too long... but I could have just measured wrong... because some of these seem pretty simple.... like I said they are already separated for each thing...
and I have found some good job overflows... it looks like one of the better ones I’m seeing is the CS ones... they make them with pumps in them to prevent the siphon problems and such...
But is it as easy as just running the pipe or tube straight down from the overflow box and into the sump and then run the tube or pipe from the pump back up to the overflow box?
I don’t want or need anything crazy and complex... I don’t plan on setting up dosing and all that crazy stuff... from the MANY articles I’ve read everyone now a days is going back to simplicity...
For example I don’t run skimmers on either of my tanks I control all my nutrients through weekly water changes and I’m sitting at 0 nitrAtes and .02 phosphates... and I just do water changes, floss, purigen, and chemipure... that’s it... no fancy dosing or adding of this or that... and it seems to be the way that everyone is heading back to.... sometimes all that dosing and crap can make things worse....
Now this tank is bigger so I would like to run a Fuge and a good skimmer but I think with those things working successfully then there’s no need for all the dosing ect... just good watee changes and I plan on keeping a deep sandbed in this tank... 3.5-4” so that should help with my filtration as well...
But ya I just need someone who has a very simple set up that works and tell me what they have and are using lol!
