ATO Reservoir in stand or refugium in stand and ATO outside of stand

Undecidedmn · Nov 17, 2021

Hello,

Not sure what to do here. Have a Red Sea Reefer 250 with the V3 sump. I hate the little ATO tank and want to upgrade it. However, I also want a separate refugium. I have two options, get a nice looking ATO, 5 or 10 gallons and put in the stand under the tank but not have a refugium. Or, get a refugium that overflows into the sump and have the reservoir outside of the stand on the right side. I already have a small IKEA cabinet on the left side that is housing the APEX, two LED ballast and hopefully dosers one day.

Only other thing is that I would like to have a Mandarin one day and feel the refugium would then be essential for copepod production. Thoughts?

blaxsun · Nov 17, 2021

If you want a larger ATO then you're kind of limited to external use. IM makes a nice (albeit pricey) 5 and 10-gallon stand alone ATO. Then you should be able to run the refugium in your sump.

RGoltz · Nov 18, 2021

On my 425XL, I have the Geo’s Reef 10 gallon ATO reservoir and a Tunze ATO. I removed the ATO “reservoir” that sits on the sump altogether. I am much happier with this setup because I can be gone for a week AND I have so much more room inside the stand.

Personally, I quit running a refugium as I did not find it efficient at nutrient management. I have other mechanisms for maintaining a copepod population.. I give the tank a bottle of reef nutrition pods each month and also have some siporax mini media in bags in the sump (in an area where I can be reasonably sure they will stay clean).

I find this whole setup much easier. YMMV