Refugium vs wet/dry

[Andresm]

1.Ok, I have a 75g with fish and coral set up with a wet/dry that will do up to a 300g tank and a skimmer. My tank is doing amazing, I do water changes every week my coral are growing. Only problems i have is keeping tangs alive. All other fish do fine Lol I use well water. Now I just got a 125g tank and I am being told by a lot do people to go to a refugium, the tank came with a 30g long that I can turn into a refu. Should I just add my wet/dry that can do up to 300g or do a 30g refu. . My hesitation is my 75g looks great with my wet/dry, been told if it isn't broken don't try to fix it lol. Sorry I am planning on doing coral and fish in 125g. I just want my tank to be as nice as possible!!!2. My tank 125g has only one drain hole in the far right side. No other holes drilled in the tank. Should I take it to get another drain hole on the left side or should I leave it, my reason is the more water flow the better, I could be wrong. 3. This tank also came with a chiller. Tks again for all the input, trying to do the best for my tankSo what would u do if u were me. Please don't say start a new hobby lolTks Andres

[alton]

I use both fuge and wet/dry. Just plumb it into your existing system.

[koa25]

I use both fuge and wet/dry. Just plumb it into your existing system.
What he said +1
I don't run a wet dry. I just have a ton of rubble in that chamber. And a fuge in my middle chamber and a skimmer after that

[Andresm]

Alton do u have any pic u could send me of ur setup. Need some more feed back. so far i have 2 people that say do a refuge and wet/dry. ????? if i drilled the other side of the tank to have 2 drain holes on each side, could i do one drain hole to the wet/dry and the other drain hole to the refuge. and then have both them return back to the tank???????


NEED MORE FEED BACK PLEASE

[Andresm]

Will a 30g refugium be big enough for a 125g tank. or do i need a bigger tank???

[rrasco]

30g dedicated to a fuge would be awesome.

Wet/dry are not that common anymore. They do provide effective biofiltration, but that is not necessary if you have enough LR. That's your bio right there. There are also arguments that they are nitrate factories and build up waste, plus they don't have the added benefit of denitrification like LR.

If it were me, I'd probably scrap the wet/dry and turn the 30g into a sump/fuge and throw a skimmer in there. Does you current tank have a skimmer?

[Andresm]

Yes it does have a skimmer, what if I did both??? Would it stock my water?

[rrasco]

Well, nitrifying bacteria colonies are relative to the amount of waste being introduced into the water (once bio is established of course). You can't really 'stock up' on biofiltration, if it's there, it's there and it will handle your bioload, but nothing more. As your waste decreases, so does the bacteria. You can rely on one or both of the methods, that's up to you. IMO, the bioballs (I'm assuming your wet/dry has bioballs) are just another thing to maintain when your LR can just as adequately do the job, if not better.

[alton]

Alton do u have any pic u could send me of ur setup. Need some more feed back. so far i have 2 people that say do a refuge and wet/dry. ????? if i drilled the other side of the tank to have 2 drain holes on each side, could i do one drain hole to the wet/dry and the other drain hole to the refuge. and then have both them return back to the tank???????


NEED MORE FEED BACK PLEASE

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?59261-My-Last-Aquarium

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?68939-MAAST-TOTM-October-2011-Alton

[Andresm]

tks for the helps everyone, still would like more input

[Andresm]

Any other Advice??

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Critters in the refugium for sure. Make a habitat for pods and other life. So much more fun. I wished I had more room for it.

[Scutterborn]

Critters in the refugium for sure. Make a habitat for pods and other life. So much more fun. I wished I had more room for it.

Dude, didn't I help you load up a 7' sump into your truck the other day!?!? and you need MORE room! Lol! Just givin ya a hard time Shane.


-Ben-

[Andresm]

?, Can I split the water out of my drain hole from my tank, one to the refug and the other to my wetdry?? What goes in a refug aways

[Scutterborn]

A "fuge" short for refugium is a place in a system wherein micro fauna are not in danger of predation from other levels in the food chain.

Yes, you can split your returns and have your return pump in the center. I've seen this setup and it works. Not my path but that doesn't make it wrong by any means.


- Ben -

[Andresm]

Why not ur path Ben? What do u not like about it.