Wet/dry sump conversion to refugium...Should I?

[Submaweiner]

My tank is 65 gallons with a Pro Clear model 75 wet/dry filter which I believe is about 9-10 gallons volume. I have my pump and a seaclone skimmer all crammed into the right side with some empty space on the left. The left side is empty now that the bio-balls have been removed. Water just trickles in onto the slotted tray over the felt filters and down into the bottom.

My question is: Would a refugium benefit me and my tank vice just leaving it as it is without bioballs just trickling into the sump and going through my filters and skimmer. My nitrates are high at about 20 ppm and I figured some macro algae would help lower my levels in conjunction with water changes.

I planned on converting the over the top trickle setup (remove the grate, felt filter, and egg crate) into a sock filter with a adapter so I could use that space on the left as a refugium with Caulerpa or chaeto with the sock filter and water flow on the left side and keep the pumps and skimmers in the other side separated.

If anyone has experience with this please help me out, or am I wasting my time with this whole thing (small sump size with too much crammed into it)?

other info:
Livestock-2 small chromis,2 small clowns,1 yellow tang, 20-30 small Hawaiian zebra hermits and snails.
80 lbs of Liverock/baserock and a few small colonies of Zoanthids,

Lighting-Outer orbit 343w HQI and Acitincs
4 powerheads maxijet 900

Tank is about 1 year old previously fish only up until 5 mo ago.

 

[brandonberry]

I think you should consider putting chaeto in there. That should help some with the nitrates. If you want to further reduce them, consider ditching the seaclone and getting a better skimmer. I modified a couple of seaclones into decent skimmers, but it still took 2 of them on a 55g tank to do a decent job, IMO. Consider getting a Euroreef, ASM, ETSS, or Aqua-C skimmer. You can often find them used for a decent price if you don't want to spend all the money to get a new one.

 

[Submaweiner]

I was looking at a Aqua-C Remora today. That would give me more room in my sump and replace my Seaclone. It hasn't been working all too well since I cleaned it. I just cant seem to get it tuned in. My worries are that the Aqua-C is sort of loud (based on reviews) and the price is fairly steep.

Do you think the sock setup is allright and will work?
Chaeto is what I was planning on placing in the sump that or Caulerpa using a Home depot flourescent light above it. Is sand required on the bottom with liverock etc. or can it be free floating in a isolated chamber?

 

[brandonberry]

The Aqua-C will work Ok, but if you have a sump, I'd personally prefer a bigger, more powerful skimmer. I think the sock set-up will work. I don't have any prefiler on mine, but sometimes I wonder if I would be better off if I did have a sock. I'd recommend going with chaeto and not caulerpa, although I personally have both. Some people have problems getting caulerpa to live, plus there seems to be an ethical issue surrounding the use of caulerpa these days. I would not put sand in the sump and liverock is not necessary.

 

[Entacmaea]

Hey there Sub- If you are going to go through the trouble of setting up a sump/fuge and are worried about the small size, upgrade it if you can for more water volume and more room for additional LR/chaeto. All-Glass tanks are pretty cheap, or go with a rubbermaid container. From you description, you can probably double or triple the size of your sump/fuge for less than $50...

I agree with Brandonberry that getting a better skimmer will help with your nitrates- perhaps even more than adding a fuge will...

 

[Submaweiner]

A new skimmer is what I'll invest in! Hopefully that will do the trick. Any of you guys have a Aqua-C Remora or Urchin? I want something slim and med range in price. I plan to eventually upgrade to a larger tank in a year or so when I move from Hawaii to the mainland. I will probably keep my 65 gallon set-up, but I want to go 125 gallon or larger. So Im weary on buying a bunch of expensive stuff for a tank I may end up selling The skimming will probably help control my occassional algae blooms, I'm hoping!

 

[cindre2000]

I would just replace the sump with something bigger so you have more room. You can easily find used tanks for cheap. And when you upgrade you can turn the new sump into a hospital tank, a refugium, or a frag tank.

 

[shavo]

i helped with some ideas changing a wet dry into a refugium for my friends tank, look at the build thread for orca