Fuge ideas

[kkiel02]

So after tmac I started wanted a fuge that would drain into my display instead of pumping into it. Mainly to get benefitial critters into my display alive. Ok so I'm in the planning stages of my 180-210 gallon and will be building my own stand in the next couple of months. I got to wondering if anyone had a good way to make this work. As of now I am thinking display drains to a non lighted sump(skimmed) and then have a pump for return but also a weaker pump to go to the fuge which drains to the display. As of right now though I have a 30 gallon acrylic tank that would house my dsb and macro. I have a spare 60ish(4 ft) gallon tank that I am thinking about using as the sump.

So questions are:
1. Anyone have a good idea on how or where to put the fuge? I am kinda thinking on a bookshelf or something and just letting it drain into the display.
2. Is 30 gallon a decent size for a fuge. I am kinda pondering hooking up my 65 gallon into this somehow and making it a breeding/ anemone tank.
3. Should I just get one large pump for the sump and use a manifold to feed everything or would 2 pumps be better?

Probably more questions to come but thanks in advance.

[ballardjr2000]

ok i am no plumber by no means.. but having it drain gravity wise into the display make sure you output has a siphon break aka flooding the main tank. also i would go with 2 pumps i just feel 2 is better than one and you can won't loose flow like you would if you T fit it or mainfold one pump. i think the 65g would be fine for a sump especially if your gonna run a good size fuge. which IMO the 30 will be fine. sounds like it will work fine to me just make sure the fuge drain isn't too low so if you loose pwr it drains and floods the main tank

[allan]

How about placing it to the left or right with a siphon connection between the two? Then if pwr is lost it will remain roughly the same level. Feed from the skimmed sump below to both the display and the fuge.

Rig up an alarm that will shut off the pump when the water in either tank reaches a certain level in the event that the siphon breaks.

[Ping]

DSB and macro should not be in the same fuge. The macro will cancel out the flow needed for the DSB. Low flow in a DSB is the primary cause of DSB's not fully processing detritus.

A 30g long would be a good sized fuge for this sized system.

I have a 20 long above one of my 125's. It is primarily for pod production, therefore it has a SSB and Chaetomorpha.

One pump or more, many pro's and cons for both. I use one large pump to supply several tanks / fuges with many ball valves sharing the same sump.

[Kristy]

DSB and macro should not be in the same fuge. The macro will cancel out the flow needed for the DSB. Low flow in a DSB is the primary cause of DSB's not fully processing detritus.

Hey Peter,
Can you explain a little more about this... how does macro "cancel out" the flow? How would we know whether the DSB is fully processing the detritus or not? And therefore whether or not there is enough flow across it? Thanks, Kristy

[ballardjr2000]

i don't run a fudge on my 90g i run a sump/fuge combo no sand in the fuge at all but have chateo and calurpa mix that just floats under the light which works great for me then it all goes to the return pump and skimmer all in all no problems

[Ping]

The flow into the fuge should be failry slow and dialed in by a valve, the overflow should be screened and cleaned weekly and inspected daily, to prevent overflow problems.

Flow in the fuge should come from a powerhead. On the advice of Jim D "flow just below what keeps the sand bed from blowing around" and Troy Valentine, "Pete, you should use a larger powerhead", I will be putting a Koralia 4 in my 55g DSB fuge this weekend.

[Ping]

A DSB fuge is for reducing nitrates and a sink for phosphates. Advection is the process. Picture high flow hitting the side of the tank, flowing down into the sand bed, the energy is slowly traveling under the sand bed back to the powerhead. Or high and low pressures along the sand bed.

Any objects in or on a DSB will slow the flow and lessen the advective actions. The idea is to create a balance.

I personally dont like the American twist on the Berlin system (Bare Bottoms) especially in a fuge, JMO.

[Kristy]

Ok thanks for the explanation, Peter... that cleared things up nicely!

Sorry about the semi-hijack of your thread, kkiel. Love the idea of a fuge above the display tank to feed the pods to the fish. Great idea to design your system around it.

[kkiel02]

Yeah no problem. I got the idea from Ping's presentation but had forgotten about the flow differences between the two. Maybe i will just incorporate the dsb in a sump chamber instead and just go shallow sand in the fuge.

Thanks I think I have a good idea of how I want to set it up now. Wish I could get the tank today. Lol

[allan]

so... and I don't want to hijack this thread either... placing a fuge in line with a DSB section isn't the answer, right? The split feed for both should result in greater flow into the DSB with a minimal flow into the fuge with algae, correct?

Aside from pod production doesn't the macro lessen the chemical levels in the system? And as far as a SSB for the macro, I assume something no more than an inch? Six for the DSB?

[ballardjr2000]

well for chaeto and claurpa you don't even need a sand bed you can just float it if you want/ thats what i do just float it in my sump before the return pump and skimmer but then again i am not running a fuge per say

[allan]

I've got the two in my fuge as well, but I've been working on building the bed up deeper. I have a lot of shells that I'm breaking into pieces to give that extra rubble for the pods, and the bed itself is about three inches.

Back to the original question, if you place your fuge on top will it be a 'display' styled fuge or hidden away? I had toyed with the idea of an aesthetic fuge like those hang on the side things they advertise.

[kkiel02]

Still debating it but will probably be displayed at this point.

[allan]

I think the display would be cool. I saw a really cool display fuge like setup somewhere online. The display was to either side of the tank display and had a huge mangrove growing up and out of the water. About five feet tall or so. There were a couple of LR littered about the bottom and the root system for the tree was just over the top of the water.

It was like two huge (30 gallons?) glass flowerpots that housed two mangroves, one each. I believe there were one or two fish in the pots as well.

[phippsj]

I think the display would be cool. I saw a really cool display fuge like setup somewhere online. The display was to either side of the tank display and had a huge mangrove growing up and out of the water. About five feet tall or so. There were a couple of LR littered about the bottom and the root system for the tree was just over the top of the water.

It was like two huge (30 gallons?) glass flowerpots that housed two mangroves, one each. I believe there were one or two fish in the pots as well.

I really like the idea of the fuge being above the tank so it can gravity feed... and am considering doing that on mine as well. My only concern is that the aquarium itself (not the stand) can't handle the extra weight... is that a needless concern?

[kkiel02]

I won't have mine right on top of the aquarium but rather to the side of the aquarium just above the tank. I would draw it out but my laptop crashed and only have this iPod to surf with right now.

[phippsj]

I won't have mine right on top of the aquarium but rather to the side of the aquarium just above the tank. I would draw it out but my laptop crashed and only have this iPod to surf with right now.

That is probably better, but I really don't have the room to place mine on the side so I would have to put it on top. I guess I can always try and see how wet the place gets :bigsmile:

[allan]

I think that's a very good concern. Even the canopy itself seems a bit weak to hold much more than a few gallons. Probably have to build a brace or shelf of some sort to hold the display.

[Ping]

Allan, the flow into the fuge, or any tank, is dialed in to match the overflow.