Need some refugium advise. Please

[Big_Rich_Fuhgeddaboudit]

Greetings everyone,

What i have is a home grown 2 foot cube and a 20 gallon long to act as my refugium. My question; On the inner workings of a refugium on the first separator glass how high should it be from bottom? The 2nd separator glass helps with bubbles as the water passes over and into the allotted slot for pods and such.. How low should this be placed from the top of the tank? In total i will have 5 glass panes. The 20 is a 20 gallon long. Thank you the help.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

#WelcometoR2R
Generally 1/2 inch to an inch off the bottom depended on flow and how much room you have to work with. As far as how far from the top, you want it high enough to keep good flow, but also low enough that should it ever become clogged or a pump fail it'll simply flow over in to the next chamber instead of flowing out of the tank onto the floor

 

[Big_Rich_Fuhgeddaboudit]

Welcome to R2R!

#WelcometoR2R
Generally 1/2 inch to an inch off the bottom depended on flow and how much room you have to work with. As far as how far from the top, you want it high enough to keep good flow, but also low enough that should it ever become clogged or a pump fail it'll simply flow over in to the next chamber instead of flowing out of the tank onto the floor

First off .. Thank you.. When you say depending on flow what type of flow are you referring to? Proper flow to my understanding is a turn over of ten times an hour... So let say a maximum flow of 10x the gallons to include refugium =80 gallons total. The aquarium and refugium are completely empty of coral sand etc. So i would want a flow rate of 800 gallons an hour or more, to where i can adjust my return pump. So on the figure stated i should allow 1 inch from bottom and a height into the refugium to be able to accommodate over flow if issues with the return become present?

 

[Crabs McJones]

First off .. Thank you.. When you say depending on flow what type of flow are you referring to? Proper flow to my understanding is a turn over of ten times an hour... So let say a maximum flow of 10x the gallons to include refugium =80 gallons total. The aquarium and refugium are completely empty of coral sand etc. So i would want a flow rate of 800 gallons an hour or more, to where i can adjust my return pump. So on the figure stated i should allow 1 inch from bottom and a height into the refugium to be able to accommodate over flow if issues with the return become present?

Correct

 

[Big_Rich_Fuhgeddaboudit]

Correct

Thank you

 

[Super Fly]

Water flow volume should be calculated differently for DT vs Sump. In the DT, you should aim for 3-4x DT volume flow which I recommend be accomplised via powerheads + return pump and not solely relying on the return pump. /Here's a good article about how to DIY a sump http://gmacreef.com/reef-aquarium-sump-tank-design/, should also read the Baffle design section too http://gmacreef.com/reef-tank-sump-diy-glass-baffles/

I created a spreadsheet to calculate each chamber water vol based on baffle and chamber dimension but unfortunately I can't attach an Excel file here. The formula is (LxWxH)/231= TTL Gallons. Be sure to calculate for excess drainage during power outage so the sump doesn't overflow and flood over when designing the sump. I would also recommend making a lid for the drain section to minimize salt creep/spray.

 

[Big_Rich_Fuhgeddaboudit]

Water flow volume should be calculated differently for DT vs Sump. In the DT, you should aim for 3-4x DT volume flow which I recommend be accomplised via powerheads + return pump and not solely relying on the return pump. /Here's a good article about how to DIY a sump http://gmacreef.com/reef-aquarium-sump-tank-design/, should also read the Baffle design section too http://gmacreef.com/reef-tank-sump-diy-glass-baffles/

I created a spreadsheet to calculate each chamber water vol based on baffle and chamber dimension but unfortunately I can't attach an Excel file here. The formula is (LxWxH)/231= TTL Gallons. Be sure to calculate for excess drainage during power outage so the sump doesn't overflow and flood over when designing the sump. I would also recommend making a lid for the drain section to minimize salt creep/spray.

Sorry for not replying sooner. Thank you for you help.. The articles you have included are excellent. If it isn't to much of a bother would you mind emailing me that Excel file you had mentioned . Thank you Email: [email protected]

 

[Super Fly]

Sorry for not replying sooner. Thank you for you help.. The articles you have included are excellent. If it isn't to much of a bother would you mind emailing me that Excel file you had mentioned . Thank you Email: [email protected]

Just emailed to ya, no bother at all. Good Luck.

 

[Big_Rich_Fuhgeddaboudit]

Sorry for not replying sooner. Thank you for you help..

Just emailed to ya, no bother at all. Good Luck.

Thank you