HOB Protein skimmer return chamber as refugium?

[ErinD]

Ok, hear me out.
On my Octo HOB protein skimmer I have a second chamber where water is returned through a pump back into the tank. It’s filtered water after skimming. It’s a fairly big chamber, and currently only has a sponge in it. Could I put chaeto in it? Rubble? Would there be any harm?

 

[Ron Reefman]

IMHO the answer is yes and no.

Pulling the filter or even running without the chamber at all, assuming it's removable. On the HOB skimmer I had, it was removable and I ran without it.

As for adding rubble, that shouldn't be an issue at all.

As for adding chaeto, if you can keep it in control and not let it get out into the rest of the DT, it would be OK. That could be a bit tricky though. And the amount of good it would do, with chaeto or rubble, would be minimal. But then it wouldn't be zero either.

Good luck either way. And if you do it, a follow up with a photo would be useful to others.

 

[Super Fly]

instead of chaeto, how about placing biomedia such as pond matrix or marine pure spheres?

 

[ErinD]

IMHO the answer is yes and no.

Pulling the filter or even running without the chamber at all, assuming it's removable. On the HOB skimmer I had, it was removable and I ran without it.

As for adding rubble, that shouldn't be an issue at all.

As for adding chaeto, if you can keep it in control and not let it get out into the rest of the DT, it would be OK. That could be a bit tricky though. And the amount of good it would do, with chaeto or rubble, would be minimal. But then it wouldn't be zero either.

Good luck either way. And if you do it, a follow up with a photo would be useful to others.

Hi Ron,
Here's my dilemma, maybe I'm thinking about this in a way I shouldn't be...
I don't run with a sump and maybe that should be where I stop the conversation and change my way of thinking and rip out whatever I have no and just go there and stop trying to engineer workarounds. I don't run a sump for a couple reasons:
1 - I think that, no matter how well designed, they get messy and hard to maintain cleanly.
2 - I think it increases the risk of overflow when a power outage happens
3 - Increase of evaporation
4 - my tank is small (45 gallons) and I don't know if it's worth the investment.

I run a large HOB skimmer (octo 100) and a canister which I religiously maintain.
I've been contemplating a reactor, but I also really like refugiums. My thought was... add a reactor and turn the return chamber of my octo into a refugium.

I am no expert and all this is learning, but that was my train. (choo chooooo! haha)

 

[ErinD]

instead of chaeto, how about placing biomedia such as pond matrix or marine pure spheres?

Not super easy to see, but the return actually pulls from the bottom, so anything I put in that chamber beside the return tube (about 3-4 inches) would have pull through. Biomedia isn’t a bad idea because the “suck” would strain through. I assume it’s not enough for something chemical.

 

[Super Fly]

Hi Ron,
Here's my dilemma, maybe I'm thinking about this in a way I shouldn't be...
I don't run with a sump and maybe that should be where I stop the conversation and change my way of thinking and rip out whatever I have no and just go there and stop trying to engineer workarounds. I don't run a sump for a couple reasons:
1 - I think that, no matter how well designed, they get messy and hard to maintain cleanly.

if u have been religiously maintaining a canister filter, then sump maintenance should be breeze for u. Messy/clean sump is subjective (some folks not bothered by it), Look at Billy Pipe's sump

2 - I think it increases the risk of overflow when a power outage happens

u can place check valve to min backflow. Sump water level should be designed then tested to avoid flooding. U can control the sump water level.

3 - Increase of evaporation

meh, it also adds water volume which is good for tank.

4 - my tank is small (45 gallons) and I don't know if it's worth the investment.

lots of folks use sump even w 45 gal. Primary reason is to hide equipment while increasing water volume.

 

[ErinD]

if u have been religiously maintaining a canister filter, then sump maintenance should be breeze for u. Messy/clean sump is subjective (some folks not bothered by it), Look at Billy Pipe's sump u can place check valve to min backflow. Sump water level should be designed then tested to avoid flooding. U can control the sump water level.
meh, it also adds water volume which is good for tank.
lots of folks use sump even w 45 gal. Primary reason is to hide equipment while increasing water volume.

That really is a nice example. I don't have 36 inches of space, but I do have 32. In addition, I don't mind my protein skimmer remaining a HOB, so I could leave it there, right?

 

[Super Fly]

sumps come in many sizes, even custom. My sumps a mess, wish it looked clean like Billy's but mine's hidden behind a wall so no one sees it but me. I believe Billy Pipes makes them for clients. Yes, can leave HOB on tank or even hanging on sump too.

 

[Homebrewer]

I have that skimmer, and I run a canister, and have done so for over 14 years. Never had a sump and though I will NEVER doubt or debate the advantages of a sump, it is not a must to run a reef tank.

As for your question, I’ve run all kinds of things in that chamber. Right now use it as a poor-man’s carbon reactor, using the high-quality BRS 0.8 carbon in a fine mesh bag. It tosses ever so gently and I’ve seen great results.

I have a simple canister which has a coarse mechanical filter, then a fine polishing pad, then Seachem Matrix, then Marine Pure gems (mechanical-mechanical-biological-biological). I took out all chemical filtration and put the carbon in the skimmer chamber. I clean the canister and change the carbon once a month, and I maintain nitrates at 0.25-1, and phosphates at 0.04-0.06.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

I don’t think you’d gain anything export wise from that small amount. I have a 50 gal and didn’t see a drop in nutrients until my ball got to be about the size of a melon.

 

[ErinD]

I have that skimmer, and I run a canister, and have done so for over 14 years. Never had a sump and though I will NEVER doubt or debate the advantages of a sump, it is not a must to run a reef tank.

As for your question, I’ve run all kinds of things in that chamber. Right now use it as a poor-man’s carbon reactor, using the high-quality BRS 0.8 carbon in a fine mesh bag. It tosses ever so gently and I’ve seen great results.

I have a simple canister which has a coarse mechanical filter, then a fine polishing pad, then Seachem Matrix, then Marine Pure gems (mechanical-mechanical-biological-biological). I took out all chemical filtration and put the carbon in the skimmer chamber. I clean the canister and change the carbon once a month, and I maintain nitrates at 0.25-1, and phosphates at 0.04-0.06.

I'm SO glad to hear I'm not the first one to think of sticking something in there.
I think I may take a leap and create an under tank refugium. Keep my canister filter and utilize the balance of the under cabinet for a refugium. Worst case scenario would be that I wish to upgrade it later to a full sump and ditch the canister, and in that case, the loss would just be the cost of the all glass aquarium I choose to turn into a refugium to start.
What size is your tank?

 

[ErinD]

I don’t think you’d gain anything export wise from that small amount. I have a 50 gal and didn’t see a drop in nutrients until my ball got to be about the size of a melon.

Interesting. So in that case, the undertank refugium would be the way to go.

 

[Homebrewer]

I'm SO glad to hear I'm not the first one to think of sticking something in there.
I think I may take a leap and create an under tank refugium. Keep my canister filter and utilize the balance of the under cabinet for a refugium. Worst case scenario would be that I wish to upgrade it later to a full sump and ditch the canister, and in that case, the loss would just be the cost of the all glass aquarium I choose to turn into a refugium to start.
What size is your tank?

65 gal. I use a Cascade 1000 canister. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, you may not need a fuge. I’ll be the first to say I wish I had one for natural benefits and pods, but I originally explored installing one for nutrient control... but THEN I made a change in my canister.

By stacking media in the way that I described, most of the bad gunk gets pulled out initially (sort of the way a filter sock is the first stop in a sump (for some setups)). This keeps the biological media from getting too caked and functioning better (in my observation). Also, using that skimmer chamber for carbon instead of putting carbon in the canister removes another “trap” for detritus buildup. I think the flow through most canisters is too high for optimal carbon exposure, and so while the benefits are less, more problems can arise as carbon packed in a canister can almost resemble a mechanical filter pad once it gets caked.

Since I switched to this combination, I’ve had to clean the canister far less often with much better water parameters. Took me a while to figure this out but now I have a good thing going!

 

[bjc451]

Check this out...I have a 65gallon with a sump and no room for a refugium. I’m thinking about a aquamaxx hob refugium. And direct pods right to the tank

 

[Homebrewer]

Check this out...I have a 65gallon with a sump and no room for a refugium. I’m thinking about a aquamaxx hob refugium. And direct pods right to the tank

Yeah I’ve strongly considered that same option. If you go with that, please develop a thread!

 

[bjc451]

Yeah I have not found too many reviews on it

 

[Sirlurkzalot]

I was considering this as well but in the end I built a new stand and bought a new sump to just fit it all into my sump.
If that is not an option for you then definitely get a HOB refugium. They are amazing nutrient export and the pods they cultivate are super beneficial to the tank.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I had a 40g cube with a 30g sump/fuge (just 2 chambers). But the corals did so well I decided to build a new 90g tank (36"x 30"x20"). Here is the old tank... gone but not forgotten! I added the second cabinet for the sump/fuge. All the electric are under the tank. This was 2 1/2 years ago.

This was the tank last spring.

See what a sump and fuge can do! LOL!