sump=refugim?

[90gal]

ok, is the sump are the same thing as refugim(sp??)?

someone gave me a 20gal tank(regular 24") and i m plannin to use it as external tank, something like the refugim. how do you plan the plumbing on doing it? what kind of pump do i need as a return line and how do you do the over-flow? should i put it on the side of the main tank or under the cabinet?thanks



i dont think i know what i m doing but i m doing it anyway, if i do something wrong, please do advice me so. thanks again. :-)

[BigAl07]

Sump is a tank in addition to a main tank where you can keep equipment (heater, skimmer, carbon bags etc) to help keep them out of site and free up real estate in your main tank. It's usually "fed" by a pump of fairly high volume where as a refugium (techincally speaking) is much slower in flow and many people grow a macro algae in there to help with nutrient export and add to overall water quality. Some people are doing a sump/fuge combo and I'm not knocking it but your fuge needs slower flow to be more efficient but a fuge with high flow is better than NO fuge at all.

[reefman420]

I didnt use a sump.You see im the poor man reefkeeper. so to say. i use a 20 long under my 75,and its all a fuge,dsb calurpa and mangroves,i have two baffles to slow water down.And its fed back up with a normal pond pump.

[BigAl07]

There ya go! Some fuges are slightly more efficient than others but ANY fuge is a HUGE benefit to your tank. In my current reef set-up I only have a fuge and I have my heater, temp prober and PH probe all in there. I admit that if I only have ONE of the two it would be some type of fuge

[2455coop]

Totally agree with Allen. They are 2 seperate items but can be combined into a single unit. A refugium with slow moving water can used to house delicate animals such as sea horses. I think BeezelBob keeps pistol shrimp in his to keep them out of his show tank.

The sump is where i add my make-up water..

[JFK_Jr]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

but ANY fuge is a HUGE

[fishnu]

90gal, I am just putting mine together. I am putting a 30 gallon under my 75 gallon. One of the things the people here have taught me is that the sump / refugium combination provides a lot of benefits.
1) A sump takes water out of your display tank, does stuff to it, and sends it back
a) Holds equipment like a protein skimmer or carbon filter bags for removing bio waste from water
b) Holds heater, drop in chiller to control temperature in your tank
c) Allows you to remove or add water without monkeying with the main tank
d) Allows you to make other chemical adjustments with or without equipment like trace chemicals Coral need.

2) A sump will contain water which falls back out of the plumbing when your electricity goes out.


A refugium is a slower moving tank containing other life, like live rock and sand which house bacteria which consume ammonia and nitrites, or like macroalgae (calurpa or chaeto) which consume nitrates.

Many people use clever pvc plumbing set ups to do this in one tank with glass or acrylic panes called baffles separating sections. You will find many illustrations of them.

Other people do more of one or more of the other.

These guys and gals are great, and will respond to your questions and ideas with appreciation and patience. They were once where you and I are.

Good luck.

[90gal]

i m so confuse....

sump=wet dry filter, am i right?

i need some plan, diagram to illustratate the sump/refugim setup/combo. the next thing is how to plumb this bad-boy, it look so confuse.

to all of ya who respond, thanks and i m still catching up and learning from ya all.

do any of ya got the pic of the setup? thanks again.

[BigAl07]

We don't really "Do" the Wet-Dry thing here much. I've never ran one myself even though a LOT of LFS's promote them.

Really a sump is JUST a tank that's usually hidden that:

Adds water volume
Housing ugly equipment
Makes some maintenance easier (All of these things were noted in fishnu's very thorough reply but I wanted to state them a little bit differently).

Fuge is slow flow and usually grows macro algae and is a place where "Pods" are grown which eventually end up in the display tank as food.

[Couch]

Well for what its worth this is what I did. I have a 20 Gallon sump/Refuge. It started as just a sump... see pic #1. Then I decided to add a refugium to the sump, so... I split the two overflows (see pic #2, the angled piece of plexiglass) which slowed the flow down through the refugium, but kept current total sump flow. I drilled holes through each piece of plexi opposite of the angled piece. The longer area is where I keep my heater, and my 2 skimmers. The shorter area is where I have put a 4 inch sand bed with tonga live rock. The shorter area then flows into the skimmer area (I thought that skimming the total water flow would be better) through drilled holes and then through the bubble trap to the return pump. this was all done with plexiglass and aquarium sealent. Get creative though. This may not be the best design, it is just what worked for me and the equipment I had to fit in their.