Setting up Refugium

[Shark_Bait]

OK. i have gone through the search and read others posts but here's my questions and hope they weren't already answered.
Can the refugium be used as the sole filtration for the tank besides the LR inside the tank? What kind of water flow should there be?
Was going to buy this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10667&Ntt=refugium&Ntk=All &Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1
But to be able to customize it some got this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=43623981 17&rd=1
OK so I got the second one so I would be able to customize and put the dividers where I wanted... But after puting them in (temp. no cement) don't know if I'm doing it right. Would like to give more info but after all the reading and poking around on the internet I'm not really sure what imprtant or not.
Man I should have just asked one of the acrylic guys here to build it.

[Shark_Bait]

Cmon 15 views and no one has any suggestions or questions. You guys that have a refugium have no inputs.

[StephenA]

I don't have one. But from what I've read:

I wouldn't replace it with LR, The live rock provides bio filtering. The fuge provides a different type

Low Flow would be the best.

[dan]

both my fuges are seprate from the sump that way i can control the water flow in each unit. if you have a pump thats puting out 1500gal an hour thats way to much water through a fuge. not that you can't have a pump thats puts out that much. you just T off that pump and control the water in the fuge. heres a pic of one of my fuges.

[GaryP]

Some LR in the fuge is helpful as a place for the pods to hide out and breed. LR gravel and/or snail shells will work.

[dan]

not a vey good pic but you get the idea. ya you should have called me. would have been happy to build you what ever you wanted. :)

[Shark_Bait]

Was hoping there were some people on here that were only running a fuge. As I really only have room for 1 under the stand. Maybe it could be made to do both. An area of high flow and one with low. Or does it work out the more jobs you have it do the worse it does on each? I really don't have anything in my sump right now except for some rubble, and nitrates are reading <10. Maybe I shouldn't mess with what is working, and save the fuge if I can talk the wife into another tank.

[GaryP]

I think the biggest advantage to having a fuge is not nitrate control, although it does help, but rather phosphate control and breeding of pods.

You can do a combo fuge/sump but if you are cramped for space the fuge section probably won't be all that big. How big is your tank? Where is your skimmer now? HOB?

[Shark_Bait]

the tank is a 75 and now the skimmer is in the sump. Guess I could make some room underneath. That is where the autotop off resevoir is underneath with the sump. Would have to build (read as: have one of the acrylic guys) a tall skinny resivoir instead of the rubbermaid down there now. Wife has the rule of everything must fit under the stand becuase the tank is in the dining room. Maybe next meeting I can go look at some of you other guys fuges and get some ideas. I'll put this on hold till I can get the big picture on what I need to do.

[GaryP]

Talk to Pete about the reservoir he built for Don-in-SA for his tank. It sits next to the tank but looks like a piece of furniture.

[Shark_Bait]

OH I had not even thought of building (read again: having someone who knows what they're doing) something that kinda looks like the stand so it blends in. Maybe make it another 4 ft long "table" to hide fish stuff.

This might work after all. gotta see if the wife will go for another piece of furniture. She will if we could make it a book shelf on top :skeezy :innocent :skeezy