Quick Refugium Plumbing Question - Copepod Distribution

[dturner]

Hey guys, I plumbed in a separate 10 gallon refugium right next to my 120 gallon display tank. I currently have chaeto and a small population of copepods and amphipods in it. Please see the diagram of my system below, it's a very rough sketch in paint but I hope should get the point across.

My question: Considering the way the refugium overflows into my sump, will I get a lot of copepods/amphipods sent back into my display tank? I intentionally had my refugium overflow line go into the sump upstream from the 3 baffles to hopefully stop/trap a lot of microbubbles from entering the display. Is this going to make the majority of my pods go into the skimmer and be killed or are most going to float with the flow of the water back into my display?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/input.

 

[dturner]

Bump.... figured somebody would know the answer to this.

 

[sprinklerdudes]

my refugium flows into the pump chamber of my sump, haven't had any problems with bubbles, my refugium is really low flow though

 

[dturner]

Thanks. I might try plumbing it into that section and put an elbow facing away from the pumps to keep most bubbles from getting into it. I was hoping to avoid having to replumbing but it may boil down to it.

 

[tonysearsjr]

For my pod population to go into my display I put a 10g above my display with chaeto and the pods. Added a pump in te overflow of display and plumbed an overflow from the 10g directly into the display control the rate of flow leaving the 10g with valve and no bubbles in display.

 

[pdisner]

Hey guys, I plumbed in a separate 10 gallon refugium right next to my 120 gallon display tank. I currently have chaeto and a small population of copepods and amphipods in it. Please see the diagram of my system below, it's a very rough sketch in paint but I hope should get the point across.

My question: Considering the way the refugium overflows into my sump, will I get a lot of copepods/amphipods sent back into my display tank? I intentionally had my refugium overflow line go into the sump upstream from the 3 baffles to hopefully stop/trap a lot of microbubbles from entering the display. Is this going to make the majority of my pods go into the skimmer and be killed or are most going to float with the flow of the water back into my display?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/input.

Hi, read your post and studied your diagram. I raise and sell/trade pods and I have to say that is the most well thought out idea I have seen anyone do. Pretty good. I always recommend not to put pods in refugiums but rather to maintain a separate culture isolated from their system. This is in order to be able to easily control or manipulate their environment to parameter that may not be exactly healthy for other system occupants.
However, I have to say that your system looks very interesting and adequate. Time will tell if the skimmer problem affects your population. It’s going to be difficult to tell though honestly, because they’re won’t be any way to accurately count them. Another problem you’re going to have is the water flow. I’m sure that you’ve thought ahead and put in a shut off valve to kill the flow. Reason being is that you’ll need to feed them with food that. Sits in there they are filter feeders and aren’t meant to be in a high flow area. You could install a screen to hold them, but that would clog 5 second after install.
So you see, there are a multitude of problems to fix or avoid by maintaining a colony or more than one for insurance in case of a crash in one. Please let me know if you have any questions that I can answer.
By the way, do you have pics of your actual system? I want to see the pod tank especially.

 

[pdisner]

For my pod population to go into my display I put a 10g above my display with chaeto and the pods. Added a pump in te overflow of display and plumbed an overflow from the 10g directly into the display control the rate of flow leaving the 10g with valve and no bubbles in display.

Hey can I see a pic of your setup?

 

[JoshH]

I have my fuge dump directly next to my return pumps, I U shaped the return pipe and any bubbles end up getting forced to the surface before they can be sucked up by the pumps.