Hi,

New to the board, my name is Jody and I live in Logan.  I am getting ready to set up my 75 gal. reef tank again (down for last 2 years).  I am debating on if I should set up a sump and  or just a mud refugium.  I know that the water movement should be slower through the refugium than the sump.  Also, that both would provide greater water volume.  But the question is can I set up just a refugium and forget the sump?  I have a 40 gal. aqu. that I was going to turn into a refugium and pump into the refugium with a gravity feed back into the main tank.  Finally, once my system is stable using a DSB and the mud refugium can I forget the protein skimmer?  Thanks for your help.

Jody <SCRIPT> window.open=NS_ActualOpen; orig_onload = window.onload; orig_onunload = window.onunload; window.onload = noopen_load; window.onunload = noopen_unload;

Setting up a 40 gal refugium above the tank is a good idea.  Nothing wrong with that.  And, it replaces the need for a sump. 

As for the protein skimmer.  Many people think they are just good to have anyway.  Some will say you don't need one at all.  I guess it is a personal preference, and I think I would run one just to help the tank out. 

Maybe others will have different ideas, these are just mine.

Adam

Hi Adam,

Thank you for the reply.  It is interesting how this hobby allows and encourages everyone to experiment to find out what does or does not work.  I guess that is what makes it so much fun.  Anyway, I was just reading in the Marine Fish and Reef 2002 Annual about a guy who built a 2,000 gal reef tank. His article starting on page 4 is very interesting and well worth the reading if you get the chance.  He makes a number of very interesting points worthy of discussion.  Get this, he is making weekly 250 gal. water changes! I was also surprised to find that he is running 2 different type of skimmers on his system to make sure it is as free of disolved organics as he can get it.  I think your right in that I could not go wrong if I used one.  I have a Berlin XL skimmer that I was using when my setup was in service and I have decided that I'll go ahead and use it again.  That is unless you can recommend another one that works even better than the Berlin.

Here is another thought.  Anyone still using a UV sterilizer, even part-time on their system?  I have always thought that going from one end of things (like using it full-time) to the other (not using one at all) is a bit extreme. I have been thinking about placing it in-line just before the water reaches the refugium and then running it for a few hours during the day only.  Any ideas there?

Jody

Welcome to the forum Jody. We have one member in Logan thats comes to almost every monthly meeting. Since the meeting is Thursday, if you want his phone number, email or call me asap.

I used to be a proponent of no skimming, but have seen many instances where troubles arise because our water volume is insufficient to dilute emergencies.

As far as UVS, why kill all the good stuff? The UVS will defeat the purpose of the refugium! My opinion is that 99.9% of the stuff in the water is good biologically. The health of the tank depends partly on the biology of the water. a stream of dead water may not hurt but does nothing helpful.

Using a static DSB seems to be the smartest filtration we know of these days. You are doing well.

Many years ago a study was done by Instant Ocean, finding that a 10% water change monthly was sufficient. Any more than that had significantly decreasing positive impact on the system. Any less than that had noticable differences compared to the 10% group. This study was conducted by a well known scientist in the hobby, Tom Frakes, employed by a salt company! I think we can trust the results.

Whoops, my email is in my profile but not my telephone. 801-296-1563

mark WMAS treasurer and membership mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]

Mark - Thanks for the reply.  I was interested in what you had to say.  If making a 10% water change once a month is the best option then why am I seeing so many people on the message boards saying that they make water changes once or even twice a week?  Of course I remember that back in the 70's a 10% change was recommended.  So why do more?

As you know I joined WMAS at the meeting last week and I am really glad I found out about you guys.  I think the club will be a great resource for me as I get my system up and running again.  Thanks for your help. <SCRIPT> window.open=NS_ActualOpen; orig_onload = window.onload; orig_onunload = window.onunload; window.onload = noopen_load; window.onunload = noopen_unload;

I have a 75 gallon tank, and I do not run a skimmer or sump or refugium.  It has been up for over 5 years, but about 1 1/2 years ago I moved it and that is when I stopped using my skimmer and sump.  Also I don't use any additives in the tank.  I just do a 5 gallon water change about once a week to help keep the trace elements in check and also the water quality.

I have actually debated quite abit on adding a refugium above the main tank.  This setup provides a lot of advantages.  One it alows you to add in algae with the ability to keep it under control and out of the mouths of your fish.  This helps with nutrient export and can be a way to provide periodic treats to your herbivors.  Also you can grow and provide live plankton because they are allowed to grow and flurish without something eating them and the end results are not chopped up by a motor.  The only issue is how to add it to the setup without making it look ugly to the non-reef-junkies.  I have some ideas, but have yet to find a setup that is both eye apealing and functional.

Hi WhiteReef,

Hey, thanks for the reply.  I think it is very interesting how your tank is doing without using the items you mentioned.  I think it is great that it is still working for  you the way it is.  It looks like I will go ahead and use the skimmer, sump and refug.  The latter two for the increased water volume and to do the other things you mentioned.  I now see that they are not as important as I once thought they were but I'll play with them anyway - just for fun!  I thought you had a good point with making the refugium look a little better than most of them that you see.  I want to display mine (40 gal. tank)to the side of the main tank so I better make it look good.  I do have some ideas but I guess the real proof will yet to be seen.  I'll post a picture of it when I get it up and going.

Jody

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I would limit the UV to tanks that have parasite problems.  UV will kill many of the beneficial animals living in your reef.

You might want to check out his webpage and the links at the bottom of the page.  Several people have refugiums that are fun to look at.  Enjoy...

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/3389/reeftank/refugium.html">http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/3389/reeftank/refugium.html