My refugium design--any advice or comments?

[wombat1]

I just built a 2 1/2 gallon refugium with a rubbermaid can that sits about 2 inches higher than my tank. Every refugium I've seen so far has a pump to return the water to the main tank, but this seems kind of silly. Isn't this crushing all the copepods/other life that you want to feed to your tank? Instead I have a pump from the sump feeding the refugium and a u tube from an overflow prefilter siphoning from the refugium back into the tank. Is this a good idea?

 

[Ryan7]

Thought about doing that myself as well, but what happens if the u tube clogs and the siphoning stops. Will your water overflow?

 

[Phillyboy]

You probably want to avoid the siphon tube. They make me lose sleep at night. See if you can plumb the fuge with a couple large bulkheads that flow into the tank.

I had similar opinions about planktonic destruction as a result of going through a pump impeller, but the reality is I've seen critter populations spread in my prop system just fine when i added a sterile new tank to the circle.

I think ideally a fuge that gravity feeds into the main system is optimal, but aparently it's pretty effective regardless of it's location in the "chain of filtration."

 

[Mac1]

Yes, you're right... ideally, you want the refugium to gravity return to the main tank. That being said, I've noticed little difference from when my refugium was returning this way, to the way it is now (returning via gravity to the sump, then pumped back up to main tank).
I've got a Sen700 on a platform in my sump that feeds the refugium (sitting next to the two tanks). I also use a HOB overflow, but only because the LFS that I brought my tank to to have drilled, broke it the day I before I was getting my detritovore kit... I do agree however, that a drilled tank would be far better.
Seeing as your's is plastic, that should be very easy to do. Simply get a bulkhead and drill a hole. Then you can plumb the refugium to the main tank via gravity very easily. You simply have to feed the refugium w/ water some how.

... Incidentally, that's the reason my Sen700 is raised up on a platform in my sump. I had exactly what PhillyBoy said, happen to me. U-tube got clogged, lost siphon, and the tank overflowed. Unfortunately, the pump powering my refugium was on the bottom of my sump... Yup, drained the sucker to the bottom. PLAN FOR FAILURE is something I follow religiously now. If you expect your plumbing to fail at some point, and plan for it properly (siphon breaks, raising pumps, etc.), you will sleep much more soundly at night. Trust me.

- Mac

 

[wombat1]

Thanks for the replies! I kind of worried about snails, crabs, etc. crawling back up into the refugium as the flow out is not too great, but I wasn't too worried about the siphon breaking. There are already air bubbles collecting--very slowly--at the top of the tube, so it's only a matter of time. The bulkhead idea is good--it will also skim off the surface, which the U tube wasn't doing. Back to the drawing board...