Help with my DIY Refugium

[9supratt4]

I posted about this a while back. Maybe about a year, but I really need a refugium now as I can no longer control the algae in my tank because of my light fixture, so I am re-visiting my fuge.

Here is what I'm thinking....Since the 2 unused bulkheads on the sump are next to each other at the bottom....if I were to drill a hole at the very top of my fuge and then just connect a pipe to my sump...will it gravity feed into the sump??

 

[redfishbluefish]

The simple answer is yes! But you are not showing how you are going to “feed” the refugium. You will need to either pump water from the sump to the fug or allow water from the display to feed the fug. The outflow pipe flow volume (diameter related), must be greater than the inflow volume.

 

[ds4x4]

probably not unless the fuge is lower than the sump.. it would be hard for it to go against gravity unless the water pressure from the actual depth in the sump was greater

redfish, he is talking about having a pipe at the bottom of the sump go to the top of the fuge tank and Gravity feed. I don't think that it will work

 

[9supratt4]

Sorry forgot to add the feed. I would T off the overflow drain pipe to feed water from the DT to the fuge, with a ball valve of course to manage the flow.

And then I was hoping the fuge would gravity feed from the fuge to the sump

 

[ds4x4]

Sorry i misread the first post and thought you were feeding the fuge from the sump. it will gravity feed and why don't you use a T in the pipe to the sump with a ball valve to control the flow then it will feed the fuge as well as the sump and no more pumps or electricity

 

[9supratt4]

A question posed to me by someone that I figured I should ask. Will there be too much back pressure on the drain from the fuge from the return chamber of the sump that will cause the fuge not to gravity drain into the sump?

 

[Henrye718]

A question posed to me by someone that I figured I should ask. Will there be too much back pressure on the drain from the fuge from the return chamber of the sump that will cause the fuge not to gravity drain into the sump?

As long as the fuge's water level is higher it will over come it easy.

 

[Henrye718]

On that note I notice the sump's last chamber has a baffle that you drew about 70% of the sumps total height. And the fuge has the gravity return line to the sump way up high.

The problem is if this drawing is to scale the refuge will end up flooding the sump. The water will go over the baffle and flood the skimmer chamber.

You have to make the bulkhead hole in the fuge only a little higher than the top of the baffle. This is gona end up being your new sump water level height.

 

[Henrye718]

On that note I notice the sump's last chamber has a baffle that you drew about 70% of the sumps total height. And the fuge has the gravity return line to the sump way up high.

The problem is if this drawing is to scale the refuge will end up flooding the sump. The water will go over the baffle and flood the skimmer chamber.

You have to make the bulkhead hole in the fuge only a little higher than the top of the baffle. This is gona end up being your new sump water level height.

Oh nevermind I was looking at it as if the flow was coming into the fuge with a seperate flow didnt realize you were gona T off one line..