Since I am having a hard time getting the new sump tht I want, I went to plan B, it will be alot cheaper. Went to Lowes today and got a heavy duty plastic tub to make a refugium out of that. I got the tub and all of the hard ware except the part I needed most, a thru hull fitting for the tube to drain water out of the tub back into the sump tank, will try and find that tommrow. I have one thing I am not to sure about though. What I was planning on doing was to take the pump that pumps water thru a plastic hose back up into the tank, split the line and add another line to feed the refugium, one pump two hoses. I looked at the pump but it hasn't any numbers on it showing GPH so I am going to have to check with the LFS to see what kind of pump I have and see if he thinks it will do both jobs. I could just buy another pump for the refugium feed line. Figured the money I save with this refugium will be about the same as the new skimmer will cost me, told my wife its like getting a free skimmer lol, she wasn't buying that. I am still going to have to add to my baffle height in the sump that I have, its only 6 inches deep in the return section, I need 8 to 10 for the new skimmer. I got the GFO / Carbon reactor hooked up yesterday and its working fine. The calcium reactor that I want is a GEO 618. Premium Aquatics wants $770 for the whole set up, I have found a used one for $400, whole set up. I will buy that one if it looks pretty good.
Refugium Tank
- Thread starter strout
- Start date
sounds like a plan! the geo CA reactors are pretty sweet (top of the line) or so i hear 
$400 for the complete setup isnt bad either! however ive chosen to go a diffent route (cheaper) i just bought a dual dosing pump. i plan on using it to dose randy's DIY 2 part recipe (google it) the 2 part will supplement cal/alk and my kalk reactor will maintain everything! i bought a used dosing pump but i was looking at getting either 2 BRS dosing pumps (bulkreefsupply) or 2 drew's dosing pumps... ill let you know how everything turns out! it should be here within a week
$400 for the complete setup isnt bad either! however ive chosen to go a diffent route (cheaper) i just bought a dual dosing pump. i plan on using it to dose randy's DIY 2 part recipe (google it) the 2 part will supplement cal/alk and my kalk reactor will maintain everything! i bought a used dosing pump but i was looking at getting either 2 BRS dosing pumps (bulkreefsupply) or 2 drew's dosing pumps... ill let you know how everything turns out! it should be here within a weekWhen I get the new tank, I will get a new sump and I will have the skimmer in its own section of the sump. Untill I get the new tank and sump though, I will have the skimmer in the return section. The sump that I have now has the water drainning out of the tank into a small area and then going thru the baffles and into the return / skimmer section. The LFS called this sump a Berlin sump. I am going to buy all new equipment (except for the lights, I will be using what I now have, T5s and MH ) for the new tank and am shooting for buying the new tank, this time next year. But, I want to use all of the equipment on the 125g that I now have. Reason being, I want to start buying some SPS corals as soon as the new equipmet is all up and running.
Well, the tub leaked Soooo, I took my 10g QT Tank to the LFS after work today. He is going to put a hole in it for me in the next day or two. I got the pump to feed the refugium and I took the thru hull fitting that the LFS gave me to Lowes and bought everything I need to set it up when I get the tank back. Should be ready to go when I get the tank back.
Soooo, I took my 10g QT Tank to the LFS after work today. He is going to put a hole in it for me in the next day or two. I got the pump to feed the refugium and I took the thru hull fitting that the LFS gave me to Lowes and bought everything I need to set it up when I get the tank back. Should be ready to go when I get the tank back. Ok, The Refugium is up and running. I will tell you what I have and you can tell me if it sounds good enough, there is one thing I am not sure about. Its a 10g tank that has a 1/2 inch overflow back into the sump. A maxi Jet 900 pump feeds the refugium thru a 1/2 inch hose that has a ball valve attached to it and the ball valve is 3/4 open. This is the part I am not sure about. I don't have alot of water movement in the refugium, but water is draining back into the sump. You can look at the water in the refugium and it dosn't look like it moving but you can see a piece of (forgot what this stuff is called) the grass stuff moving around, when a piece comes loose from the ball. Anyway, water movement is what I am concerned about. I think my Nitrates are starting to drop already.
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Cheto is in the refugium, not sure what kind. I got it from the LFS, who got it from a friend of mine. I have seen some that looked like Spanish Moss (if you know what that is) this isn't like that. Its not as corase, this that I have is alot finer. There is no sand in the tank and I wasn't planning on putting any in there. I think You told me not to, I think you told me to put the DSB in a 5g bucket if I wanted one. The lighting Is one of those clip on lighting lamps you get from Lowes, the silver cone shaped things. I forgot what size bulb it is, the LFS told me what to get, but it has been keeping Corline Algae on the live rock in my sump. As far water movement, like I said there is a 1/2 inch drain out of the refugium that has an elbow fitting with a 1/2 inch pvc pipe attched to that and there isn't a solid stream coming out of the pipe, but I would say 3/4 of a solid stream.
You told me not to, I think you told me to put the DSB in a 5g bucket if I wanted one. The lighting Is one of those clip on lighting lamps you get from Lowes, the silver cone shaped things. I forgot what size bulb it is, the LFS told me what to get, but it has been keeping Corline Algae on the live rock in my sump. As far water movement, like I said there is a 1/2 inch drain out of the refugium that has an elbow fitting with a 1/2 inch pvc pipe attched to that and there isn't a solid stream coming out of the pipe, but I would say 3/4 of a solid stream.