Refugium question

[ryanrichter]

I am new to maast and I really enjoy it. I have learned a whole lot by reading these posts, so I decided to ask some questions to see if anyone has some feed back. I am looking forward to meeting some of you and seeing this awesome tank on Saturday.
My questions are:
1. What is the general rule of thumb on how big the fuge has to be? I have a 115g reef tank, but because of limited space under my tank with the wet/dry and all, I have a ten gallon fuge with gravity flow back into my sump.
2. Would a rubbermaid tub work for a fuge? And if so what is some good sealant I could use for the overflow? Ultimately I would like to had one custom made, but am more interested in putting money into corals and such. ( Have to split funds b/t hoobies because my other hobby forced me to buy a new bay boat last summer).
3. Is the Seaclone really all that bad? I havent had any problems with mine, but have read some pretty bad remarks about them on this site.
THANK YOU!!!

[wkopplin]

1.) Fuge should be as big as you can make it. Really more of a space thing.

2.) You could use a rubbermaid tub. I think a regular bulkhead with silicon would seal it.

3.) If the skimmer is working for you, don't worry about it. Every piece of equipment has its drawbacks, but as long as it does the job in your tank and your fish and corals are happy and healthy, you are fine.

[Medinafish]

Ryan- you might want to check: www.wetwebmedia.com. Do a google search for "refugiums". Lots of good information.

[matt]

Good avice so far. If you have measurable nitrates, consider removing the bioballs from your wet-dry if you're using them. Do this slowly over a period of time, and only if you have a sufficient amount of liverock (approx 1lb/gal, but less is needed if you have a sand bed) OR a decent sand bed, like 3-4" of depth of fine grain sand like aragamax or southdown. This will result in a more balanced population of bacteria in areas of varying oxygen content, which should remove your nitrates.

[dan]

ryanrichter, i think the bigger the better. i have a 40gal. on my tank and thats way! way! to small. wish i had a 100gal. my algaes are trying to grow out of the tank. lol