REFUGIUM SET UP HELP! and TIPS! SUGGESTIONS please

[adritank]

Hey all, <br>I recently purchased an already established tank and this was the set up it had minus the live rock that I added.<br>There are also bio balls in the corner that i have been removing slowly.&nbsp;<br><br>I am open to tips and suggestions on what to do to improve this. Thank you!&nbsp;

 

[adritank]

Help me out guys!

 

[revsgirl]

Bump


Chasing the Dream Giver, not the dream! Tonya

 

[ReeferBob]

Kind of an odd setup. Typically you would have your skimmer in the first compartment where the overflow empties into the sump. This is because the return section water level varies with evaporation and skimmers are touchy to consistent water levels. Can you get better pics of the sump? It looks like you have some substrate and rocks in all of the sump including the return section. Not wrong, but not typical. Also is that a sponge in there?

 

[shovelrider]

Does the water fluctuate in the compartment where the blue tape is?

 

[Qsilver23t]

It looks like the water level is the same throughout the whole system...

 

[Qsilver23t]

This is my fugue setup. First picture shows overflow and center section. The overflow is stacked with live rock, and water goes into the center portion through the bottom of the divider so it is forced through the live rock and plants instead of just flowing over them. In the center I have chaeto, caulerpa, codium and sea lettuce with live rock.

In the second pic the center overflows into a sponge which is changed often, then into the return/ skimmer. The sponge catches any plant bits before they go through the return.

This setup works great for my 72 gallon, as long as I don't put an emerald crab in the center that will eat all my plants in 3 days (bad experience)...

 

[Reefing Madness]

Get rid of all the clutter in the incoming water side. Throw some Cheato, and some other Marine Plants in there, and your good to go. You don't need sand, unless your doing a Deep Sand Bed, and you don't need Rock in there unless you can't get it all in the DT.

 

[adritank]

Not really, the water stays pretty much at the same level..

 

[adritank]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to try and fix things up this weekend. I just arranged everything exactly how it was when I bought it. So.. Should I put the skimmer on the opposite side?

 

[Bakapuma]

You need to move the over flow to the first chamber with the skimmer. The return needs to be moved to the opposite side. Place eggcrate between the fuge section and the return. Add some macroalgae to the middle chamber.