Adding Refugium

[tangywickles]

Good morning! I am looking to add a refugium under my 60gal tank to connect to it. I’m needing help with how to connect it to my tank! Any advice would be great, a step by step would be better I’m super new to all of this. Also would a whole sump be better? Love the idea of just the refugium because it would add aesthetic too.

Pic shows where I want to put it.

 

[World Citizen]

I think you are best of with a Overflowbox (google)

This way you do not have to drill the tank. If you are fine with drilling the tank, I would take the whole tank down en drill it.

 

[JonasTheApe2379]

Tank, skimmer, cheato algae and a return pump. That should get you started. You can also switch the skimmer for filters bc they are so expensive. But I recommend an in tank skimmer.

 

[bryce.martin]

Sumps are always better, easier to maintenance items, adds more water volume so swings are less volatile, and allows you to place other reef gear like skimmer and reactors in there to help keep tank healthy. I wouldnt get caught up on a refugium being eye pleasing...at some point it just looks like a mess unless your going to try and scape it but then your taking away some of the purpose of the macro algae. You wanna pack that refugium full of various types of macro algaes and let the dominant species win. Word to the wise you want to have a refugium as large as you can fit under there. Some have said 20% display volume some even say as much as 50% display volume. We could go down a rabbit hole with this.

 

[whyapollo]

I love macroalgae display tanks. On my first system I started with a 55 gal with a 20 gallon tank converted into a sump. I used an overflow box with hoses to move the water (just make sure that the sump can accommodate the extra volume of water for when the power goes off). Then, I plumbed another 20 gallon tank, also with it's own overflow box to the same sump. Again, had to make sure it could handle all the extra water that drops into the sump when the power goes out. This tank was my macroalgae display with a bubble tip anemone and 2 clownish.
Ran this setup for about a year before I moved and had to tear it down. That macroalgae tank basically acted as refugium with several types of algea from Gulf Coast Ecosystems (https://www.live-plants.com/). Club members always complimented it when we had meetings (this was long ago before they became more popular).
I say go for it! Get what you want! If you want a nice refugium, get it. Don't worry about the sump portion, the refugium will help out your tank just as much. If your not interested is a macroalgae display, then set up a tank that'll fit that space with a ball of cheato. You'll have benefits from having it connected to your main display.