Combo Sump/Fuge

[Shark_Bait]

I have a 75 gal tank and a wet/dry sump with some rubble in the bottom. Was thinking of trying a fuge but have no room for it to go. Could I get a tank that fits under the stand (maybe a 20) and have it do both roles. If I understand right the fuge should have pretty slow water flow. Could this tank be cut in half longways so half could be the refugium and the other half a sump area for chemical fitration and the like. Am I trying to make either of these spaces too small? Just at the thought stage, so any thoughts are welcome.

[captexas]

Rob -
I have a 75g as well and tried to figure out how to do a combination sump/fuge that would fit under the tank as well. By the time you make room for a skimmer, return pump, heaters, and room for a light for the fuge, I decided there wasn't enough room to come up with a decent sized model that would really serve its purpose and still fit inside the stand.

I decided to build my own sump/fuge combo and have it external to the stand. This of course only works in certain situations and it helps to have a wife or girlfriend that doesn't mind having to look at it as well, lol. I was going to have mine plumbed through the wall and sitting on the other side, but ended up just placing it behind my couch in a corner. It's 36in x 24in x 21in tall so it is pretty good sized. One idea you might think about is having the sump in the stand and then having a separate refugium that sits beside the main tank. With some different macroalgae and live rock, they don't look that bad.

[::pete::]

I know this isnt a 20 but will help with your idea ... Link (http://jjgeisler.com/reeftank/55g_sump-refugium2.htm)

[CD]

One idea you might think about is having the sump in the stand and then having a separate refugium that sits beside the main tank. With some different macroalgae and live rock, they don't look that bad.


This is the way we have ours set up, and I love it! After all, the 'fuge can be almost just as interesting as the display. 75G display, 30G long sump (holds protein skimmer, chiller element, pumps, etc), and a 15G 'fuge (external) sits on a table to the right of the tank. Chris built shelving units above both the tank and the fuge - of which the bracket for the shelf also holds a dowl that we hang the lights off of. Digital meters for ph/temp/wavemaker hang on the wall under the fuge shelf so they are easily viewable.
:D

Wendy

[Shark_Bait]

Pete acording to that link he is running the water through the fuge full force. Hell It's pretty much a 55 gal tank with baffles. I thought water should flow slow through the fuge. Where the tank is located in the house there is no room for external anything. I attached a picture of my sump. I took out the drip tray and the bioballs. Underneath the eggcrate I put 3 lbs of rubble. It's not lighted (yet) and there's no macro growing in there just a portion of pods from IPSF.

[Viet-Tin]

I just got done building my sump/fuge not too long ago. Heres some pics, maybe theyll give you an idea on how to do yours.

[Viet-Tin]

pics would help

[Shark_Bait]

So maybe I just need clarification on this.... Can/Should the water run through the fuge and the normal sump rate? Or should it be slower so the macros can "clean" the water? Maybe this is my problem, that I'm trying to get two different water flow rates.

[::pete::]

No ... you want it slow in the fuge. I posted the link just to give an idea. You would want to divide it so the fuge gets a slow flow.

[GaryP]

Just do it with a divider and put a T into your return line with a ball valve on there to give the fuge compartment a slow flow.

Gary

[dan]

depending on the pump you are using for your main tank and the size of the fuge you may want to slow it down for your fuge. if you have a pump that's pumping 3 or 4 thousand gals in hour in your tank you don't want that running through your fuge. again depending on size 1 or 2 hundred per hour should be fine running the fuge.

[elm0]

Ok, I've been studying this subject for a while now. My question is if you get a descent sized fuge for your tank with the proper water flow and everything, then what is the purpose of having a sump at all, I mean won't the fuge serve the purpose of having larger water volume that the sump would, unless you just want that much more volume. Any other reasons to have a sump in addition to the fuge in this situation?

[prof]

Adding water volume creates a more stable system. 'Dilution is the solution to pollution' (Calfo)

Generally, a sump is used to hide filtration/dosing equipment. A refugium is a 'refuge' for livestock that can not or should not be sustained in the main tank.

You can always add something like a trash can or 5 gallon bucket under the stand. Fill it with macro and add a simple power compact bulb to light it. Pump water from the sump into the bucket and let the water overflow back into the sump. Any pump will work, ie...powerhead, and it just overflows into the sump so the risk of overflowing to the floor is low.

[ratboy]

I ran a baffled 20 gallon sump/fuge in my 90 running on a mag18. It worked great even though it broke the rules and had high flow thru the fuge. Macro and mangrove still grew quickly. With my 380 I converted the wet dry part of the filter that came with it into a proper low flow fuge. I split one of my 2 drains so a tiny bit of water bleeds into the "wetdry". I sealed the wet dry so it fills to about 9" deep. Im currently lighting it from the side but Im going to install my old PCs so I can light it from the top and put some lights in the main part of the sump and probably grow frags or zenia.

[NaCl_H2O]

The forgotten benefit of a "Sump" is that it provides variable water capacity. As evaporation occurs, the water level in the sump can drop without impacting inhabitants in the tank or fuge until your top off system (automated or manual) can correct the problem. Also, any small leak can be overcome by the reserve capacity in the sump. Finally, if setup correctly, the sump can provide capacity to hold water from the sytem that siphons back to the sump during a power outage.

[btacker]

I think that Elmo is saying that a fuge and serve all the purposed you are giving to a sump. I would say that if you wanted, you could get a smaller return pum and just use the entire sump as a fuge, but I think that most people are going to want to put their skimmer down there and should probably have more water flow to it than a fuge would want.

I had a problem spliting my drain line. My return water has a ton of micro bubbles in it and that was causing bubbles in my fuge so my macro would float, etc etc... anyway, I use a maxi jet 1200 to pump water into my fuge from my sump area.

You should be able to do this design in a 55 gallon tank pretty easily.