How would you build the perfect refugium

[o2manyfish]

Hello Everyone,

I have the opportunity to build the ideal refugium. I just don't know what the ideal would be....

The refugium is going to be a tank located within my new 100 gal sump. The refugium is 24Lx12wx15H. I can bring the water in from any location - Top, side, bottom, middle. I can let the water exit from any location as well. Also the entry and exits don't have to be bulkheads, but can be spray bars, overflows, whatever I choose.

So what is the ideal situation ? If you could take your successful refugium and make it better what would you do ?

Thanks Dave

 

[lemonyx]

On the dnext go aroung- it will be deeper

 

[krux]

my idea refugium would be mounted above the tank. water would be pumped up to it from the sump via a T and ball valve off of my main return line. This would enter in the refuge from the top with a spray bar that had a couple directional nozzles so that a light current could be set up, perhapse buffeted off of a single bulkhead or off of a wall of the fuge its self. there would be a single drain out the other side with a filter basket attatched (you can buy them with baskets designed specifically to cover them everywhere on the web) that would drain approximately 3 times the volume that was pumped in, so that any slow down assosciated from algae growth would not cause a overflow situation. the system would then gravity feed back into the tank, preferably on the side opposite from you main return line.

The reason for all of this of course being unfiltered, unskimmed, unozonized plankton return to your tank.

 

[Fredfish]

The perfect refugium would be next to the tank, about twice as big and would be called a seagrass bed and magrove tank.

There are lots of cool critters you can put in this kind of tank, garden eels, pipefish and seahorses come to mind. If you could create a small piece of land mudskippers would be cool to.

Fred.

 

[wetworx101]

I made one I could label perfect for my 10 gallon nano and I want to try making a bigger version for my 150. I is a 20"W x 6"D x 18"H custom made fuge that I constructed to look pro. It sits behind the main tank and had a removable mirror in front of it for the nano's background. I have a 28w PC bulb on 24/7. It has 4 baffles, 2 on each side. It is a pump in, overflow out configuration. The first two baffles hold bio-balls in a 2" x 5.5" x 18" chamber. The second baffle is actually three pieces. The water needs to be divided before going into the main chamber because I have a 5" deep plenum on the bottom, with a 2" deep tray suspended over it with just a 1/4" gap all around it for water to rise up around the tray, besides rushing in from the baffles. The tray has miracle mud in it and a few macro algaes growing in it. The last two baffles hold a 2"x6"x3" coarse sponge in between them, as well as leaving an open area for more bioballs or whatever, although I havent made my mind up yet. There are a couple small crabs in the main chamber, some snails, and bristleworms to move around the plenum's sand. I only wish I had a bigger chamber with more light so I could try more species of macro and a bigger plenum.

 

[wetworx101]

The pic is a little outdated, but the outline i followed for the final design. The bioballs were moved from the right chamber to the far left, eliminating the down-pipe. The chamber on the right is for my heater now.

 

[The Pirate]

I am using a 125 acrylic tank with a built in overflow. The water enters the overflow through a bulkhead on the side and goes through a micron sock after it's been through the skimmer. There are 3 3" holes drilled into the overflow about 4 to 6 inches above the sand bed on the right. A 9" fan, 2 55 watt day light PC's and a small reflector sit on top. 2' from the left side there is a dividing wall with 1/4" holes drilled every 2". This keeps the water column moving slow and even through the rocks.