Refugium

Question
I am going to purchase a 55 gallon tank soon and was wondering if would be cheaper to be my own refugium or buy one? And how would I go about to build a refugium?

Answer
Hey devin,  (I changed the message to public so others may read it too)


by refugium, i am guessing yo umean   sump with a refugium...

And depending on how much room you have under your stand or wherever you are going to place the sump/fuge, and what equipment you are going to put in there, then it maybe better / more feasible to design and build your sump


A sump can be as simple as a small aquarium ...

thats it... water drains to it, and there is a pump  that will pump the water back up to the tank...

If you want 'compartments' to minimize turbulence and or micro bubbles from a skimmer, or for a seperate area to create a refugium for keeping macro algae and maybe a deep sand bed and other critters,, then you can get some glass or acrlic and glue them in place...

The process is relatively simple, but can become confusing and complicated depending on what and how far you want to get...

A good sump MUST be able to hold all the water that will drain into it if there is a pump or power failure....

other then that, most other things are personal preference or somewhat arbitrary


I would suggest joining my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com   and introducing yourself there, and you will get some great tips and see some pics of other sumps/refugiums...

(I had a really neat setup and had my sump/fuge outside on my patio... and could do water changes by the turn of a couple valves)

anyways, good luck and please stay in touch


bill