How To Connect External Refugium

[Forsaken77]

So I was looking at the CPR website and came across the Aquafuge Pro Refugium. It's not the hang-on style, but a full refugium with a built-in skimmer (which is supplemental at best). I like it because it's separate from the sump, can have it's own light source, and would basically be a big algae reactor. The design is really quite nice and would fit well next to the Trigger.

I would like to incorporate this somehow into my Trigger 39 sump WITHOUT drilling if possible. Is there a way to have a balance of water where maybe one U-Tube flows in and another flows back to the sump?

Basically what are my options without drilling into my new Trigger sump? I'm more of a technical guy than mechanical, so I don't want to screw up or cause a leak with a bulkhead.

If anyone has any experience with these fuge's, please discuss. It's either a reactor in the Trigger, or this. I would prefer this because it adds to the water amount.

 

[pluikens]

Can you provide a picture of your sump area? Are you able to place the Fuge higher than your sump? If so, I think you could T off of your return, adding a gate valve below the T before your drain to your sump to control how much drain water goes to the fuge, then the one bulkhead on the fuge could be plumbed to gravity drain back to your sump (with a gate valve there too).

 

[Forsaken77]

Can you provide a picture of your sump area? Are you able to place the Fuge higher than your sump? If so, I think you could T off of your return, adding a gate valve below the T before your drain to your sump to control how much drain water goes to the fuge, then the one bulkhead on the fuge could be plumbed to gravity drain back to your sump (with a gate valve there too).

Actually, tell me if this will work. I read it somewhere else and seems easy.

I'll use a 2 gallon white bucket with 2-4 of those magnetic chaeto led's from AI (I think). The type that's a rectangle and the lights are in the water with a dry-side magnet.

I'll use one of those Uniseal gaskets from BRS that people use on curved surfaces, but put it on the bottom of the bucket so a 1/2" or 3/4" pipe can go through the bucket into the sump (underwater) and at the same time the pipe will be the high water line inside the bucket (about half filled). Then just have my MJ1200 with ball valve to regulate flow into the bucket (maybe through the side of the bucket with another Uniseal), the chaeto moves around from the pump, the drain is the pipe higher up, with a screened top, and it just drains to the sump without sucking the chaeto down.

I just have to put something over the sump to hold the 2 gallon bucket.

Sound like a decent idea for a cheap & easy 1 gallon reactor?

 

[pluikens]

If you're going with a bucket and plumbing through the flat bottom, I would use a bulkhead rather than a uniseal. I personally don't trust uniseals but I've never used them. This plumbing approach is going to be loud. We tune our overflows to near silence, and this will just be introducing that noise back into the system.AI doesn't make the small fuge lights, I those are by IM for use in their AIO tanks (Auqa Gadget Magnafuge LED Light). Regarding those, the magnet is on the inside, LEDs are on the outside shining through. For two or four of those, you're going to be in the hundreds since they're $60 each new. I'd actually suggest one of the UFO-style grow lights from Amazon, I know the Growstar 150W is very popular on this forum. Going this route, I'd suggest a 5-gallon standard fish tank for the fuge. That's a lot more volume and it should sit across your sump at 16". Use a Finnex FugeRay Planted+ for lighting or better yet, a smaller LED grow light from Amazon. Then you could do three bulkheads, one into the fuge, two out (one being an emergency and the other tuned with a cheaper gate valve) for the primary drain. It will be near silent and I think a small tank will look much better than a bucket. I'd paint the exterior sides of the tank and the bottom any color to keep the grow light spillage to a minimum. Thoughts?

 

[Forsaken77]

If you're going with a bucket and plumbing through the flat bottom, I would use a bulkhead rather than a uniseal. I personally don't trust uniseals but I've never used them. This plumbing approach is going to be loud. We tune our overflows to near silence, and this will just be introducing that noise back into the system.AI doesn't make the small fuge lights, I those are by IM for use in their AIO tanks (Auqa Gadget Magnafuge LED Light). Regarding those, the magnet is on the inside, LEDs are on the outside shining through. For two or four of those, you're going to be in the hundreds since they're $60 each new. I'd actually suggest one of the UFO-style grow lights from Amazon, I know the Growstar 150W is very popular on this forum. Going this route, I'd suggest a 5-gallon standard fish tank for the fuge. That's a lot more volume and it should sit across your sump at 16". Use a Finnex FugeRay Planted+ for lighting or better yet, a smaller LED grow light from Amazon. Then you could do three bulkheads, one into the fuge, two out (one being an emergency and the other tuned with a cheaper gate valve) for the primary drain. It will be near silent and I think a small tank will look much better than a bucket. I'd paint the exterior sides of the tank and the bottom any color to keep the grow light spillage to a minimum. Thoughts?

The reason I was suggesting a bucket, or even a plastic bin of some sort, is that I don't have the tools for drilling bulkheads and I've never drilled glass before, not to mention it's winter here. That's why I was suggesting something plastic and easy. It can be a plastic rectangle bin for all I care. It's in a closed cabinet.

The tank is 180 gallons. It's not plumbed yet, but I can tell you that it will ALL be soft plumbing, both drain and return, so nothing will be T'd from it. There are 2 return pumps for the dual overflows and they will both attach to their own 25 watt UV units, also mounted over the sump on a plastic decking board H-frame.

I figured using the MJ1200 that came with my BRS Deluxe Reactor with ridged tubing (1/2" RO push connect tubing) will go through a Uniseal into the bin underwater. The tube coming down, even if it's a regular bulkhead, should be quiet, no? It's a slow flow in from the pump and the water going back down the center tube would be draining underwater as well. I'm talking 300 gph here, nothing that would cause splashing.

I chose the bucket because of the light bleed and white reflects better. But you're right about those led's, I always confuse AI and IM's stupid little products, lol. So a small clamp on grow light would probably work better.

So the room above the sump will be limited because of the UV mount. I want it to drip into the sump when the bulbs need changing. A 5 gallon tank would look nicer, but then I'm back to drilling through glass, not to mention I don't know how long the Trigger sump would withstand and extra 40 pounds on it's frame. So maybe some sort of Tupperware rectangular bin that I can easily drill holes through that will hold 2-3 gallons? I have a 6500K fully submersible Marineland tube light that is 18 inches long that works good for chaeto or Ulva as well.

I think I need to build the composite decking mount before figuring out the algae recepticle.

 

[pluikens]

Would you be open to PVC plumbing for the drain from fuge to sump? I would want at least either one 1" PVC drain or two 3/4" PVC drains. Bulkheads or uniseals, either would work in plastic, I just trust bulkheads more when I can glue in the pipe and tighten down the seal. Even at 300gph, that's one heck of a mess should the macro algae or anything else you want to keep in the fuge clog the one drain. If you went with soft plumbing and it kinked, the fuge is going to start overflowing shortly after. I couldn't recommend plumbing it any less safe/redundant than your display since it has the same potential for catastrophy. Also, if you haven't drilled glass before, a 5 gallon would be a great starting project. It's winter where I am too in Minnesota. You could drill a 5 gallon in a bathtub with water running over the tank. $5 tank, $10 glass hole saw from Amazon, $5 bulkhead. Or go with the plastic container, that would work just as well. I'd just strongly encourage hard plumbing the drain, at least have two drains.

 

[pluikens]

Also, doesn't the trigger 39 have a decent sized fuge area in it? Are you using that for something else?

 

[Forsaken77]

Also, doesn't the trigger 39 have a decent sized fuge area in it? Are you using that for something else?

Yes, it does have a 10.5" x 15.5" chamber, but I most definitely want to keep any macro algae, especially chaeto, strictly confined. I'd keep that chamber empty before I put algae in it, lol.

I had set up a compartment in my 93 cube's sump for chaeto and the stuff was everywhere!!! So that's why I'm either going reactor, or some DIY variant. I just figured I could get more volume out of a small bucket than a reactor. That's where that idea came from, a reactor going in that chamber.

But I would like to keep some Marine Pure blocks in that chamber (or something comparable biologically), or possibly a secondary skimmer and algae reactor. I want to focus on more nutrient export with this tank.

 

[pluikens]

How did the Chaeto get everywhere in your last tank? Was it in the sump? In a refugium section? Was it dying or growing? I've really only seen it fall apart when it's dying.

 

[zerocool]

Pictures.... anything.

 

[Forsaken77]

How did the Chaeto get everywhere in your last tank? Was it in the sump? In a refugium section? Was it dying or growing? I've really only seen it fall apart when it's dying.

No, it was growing fine in the sump. The sump is custom for the 93 cube because there's so little room under the cabinet. I bought it used and it came like that.

The water comes down into a giant sock in the back left (remember it's a square shaped sump). There is a wall that goes from the rear to the front right down the center, stopping 4 inches before reaching the front, and the water flows forward on the left, around and back on the right. The return pump is at the very back on the right side, with one 10" wall or baffle before it to set the water height of the whole sump at 10 inches. The water pours over this divider to the return pump chamber. That should give a good description of the sump.

The skimmer is on the left side after the sock. So the right side I used as a fuge. I had a 10" jar with rubble rock (with holes drilled thoughout) blocking the 4 inch area in the front, separating the chaeto from getting back to the skimmer area.

I had a 6500K submersible Marineland light held on the side with magnets and a 200 gph small powerhead to gently tumble the chaeto. When it got big and needed to be trimmed was the problem. After cutting out a big chunk, and putting it back in the sump, little bits from the trimming would fly around everywhere. And because the return chamber only had the single wall to cascade over into, the bits would go right into the pump area.

I had the small powerhead mounted high on that back 10" wall to limit floating pieces and clippings, but they made it over anyway.

It was only after pruning the ball that the little bits would start to fly. And this is a nice 14" x 14" section of the sump. It just made such a mess. So I don't want to deal with clippings in my new sump, even if they get caught by the foam baffling. And if I end up keeping macro directly in the sump, it'll probably be Ulva. That's why I was looking into that separate fuge, then thought about a DIY fuge that would essentially do what a reactor does, just a bigger scale, above the sump.

Just one idea kept bouncing me to the next, lol.

 

[Forsaken77]

Pictures.... anything.

Pictures of what? The sump I was referring to isn't set up yet. I saw the CPR fuge and thought that would be nice to add to the sump, but without drilling. Plus I didn't think is was as expensive as it is. So I thought of other ideas that would accomplish the same goal.

I basically would like a separate macro area without drilling my new Trigger 39 sump. I was trying to figure a way to do that where is has more capacity than a reactor.

 

[steveaus10]

I have a 40 gallon sump with a wet dry trickle and a ten gallon refugium gravity fed and controlled with a gate valve between DT and sump It works for me may not for every one though

 

[Forsaken77]

I have a 40 gallon sump with a wet dry trickle and a ten gallon refugium gravity fed and controlled with a gate valve between DT and sump It works for me may not for every one though

Did you drill bulkheads through your 10 gallon to run water to the sump? Is the drain line split with a small amount going to the fuge and the main portion to the sump? How it it set up? Details please.

 

[Mandelstam]

ReefSpy on YouTube has a video of how he made his external fuge work with his sump. It's a nice setup I think and might give you some ideas.