Refugium + Chiller for RSM 130

[Dnwolf]

Hello fellow reefers !
Im thinking of creating a refugium for my RSM 130 to control the nitrate levels as well as to cultivate copepods for future inhibitants!

Anyways I personally don't want to drill a hole into my RSM filtration compartment or get a overflow box , so i was thinking , is it possible for me to use a Ehiem 1000 circulation pump and connect it to the optional chiller tube , which is this if you don't get what i mean :

And connect it to my refugium which would be a 10 gallon

And finally use another ehiem 1000 to bring it to my chiller and back into my tank .

Would that be ok?

 

[DaveK]

What your planning is doomed to fail, and cause a major flood.

This is because it is just not possible to keep both pumps running at the exact same flow rate. Since they will flow at slightly different flow rates you'll either run the sump dry and cause a flood from your main tank, or you'll drop the main tank level way down and cause a flood from the sump.

If you want to mount a refugium at or below the level of your main tank, then you must have some sort of overflow from the tank. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the way it is.

Now one alternative you do have is to mount the refugium above the main tank, and build an overflow into that. Then you can pump water up to the refugium, and lat it overflow back to the main tank. However, you can see that you still have an overflow built someplace in the system.

As for the chiller, since that is a sealed unit, you can place it below the tank, and run a pump to feed it.

 

[reefer gladness]

+1

Even if you add an overflow box to the RSM tank you still have some issues matching flow between pumps but doing it without an overflow box is doomed.

If you add an overflow box you still have to match flow between two different sump areas. The back chamber of the RSM is basically a sump with 1 or 2 pumps on the left side returning water to the display side. If you add another sump (either above or below) you have to match the flow of that return pump to the flow of the pumps in the RSM sump to the display side again.

Been there and done that before. I used Eheim pumps with adjustable flow rates all around and the mechanical filters always clog up, same thing happens with the media in the in-Tank media basket. Remove the mechanical filters and you run into more problems eventually. Plus all those pumps put more heat in the water causing the chiller to run more.

 

[Dnwolf]

Hmmm okay i get now ... But i still wanna refugium in my rsm 130!
Im not sure if a 10 gallon sump would be enough for a 30 gallon DT ...
Anyone done a sump for their 130 by using a overflow box before? Mind to teach me ? tee hee
Links would help as well !

 

[reefer gladness]

Several of us have but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone having tried it myself already. You can't really fit a large enough fuge to make any real difference.

If you want to try it head over to lifereef.com for the pre-filter overflow box custom made for the RSM 130. You can shop around for other overflow boxes but you will find they won't fit over the back of the RSM tank. Return pump goes in the last chamber of the sump, or if you install externally it connects to a bulkhead in the last chamber of the sump. Chiller goes in-line after the return pump and back up to the accessory/chiller connections in the back of your tank.

Getting the overflow to be quiet can be a challenge, less of an issue for some people, all depends on whether the gurgling noise bothers you. There's an optional silencer kit sold with the overflow box with instructions if you go this route.