Display refugium plumbing

[zwalter38]

Question regarding plumbing a display refugium. So basically I have a 135g running off of two canister filters and no sump. I am going to plumb a 35g display refugium into the system. My plan was to run a 1inch siphon tube between them and an in-line pump from the 35 into the 135. So in theory the pump would pull water from the 35 gallon and output it into the 135. Then the siphon tube would return water back into the 35 gallon. I set it up and it ran ok. The water started level and then would drain to about 2 inches lower on the 35g and eventually would stop lowering. I’m assuming this happened because the siphon gained enough head pressure to keep up with the pump. I also tried a smaller pump. I’m wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could plump in a display refugium with no sump. Thanks

 

[RocketEngineer]

The safest method would be to have the display fuge sit somewhat higher than the tank, use a gravity drain to go from fuge to display and a pump from display to fuge. This would act just as if the larger tank was the sump.

 

[Katrina71]

@sfin52 just did a similar project. He may be able to give you pointers.

 

[zwalter38]

The safest method would be to have the display fuge sit somewhat higher than the tank, use a gravity drain to go from fuge to display and a pump from display to fuge. This would act just as if the larger tank was the sump.

That was my very first idea, however it looked horrible having the fuge that much higher than the main display. Plus I’m sort of stuck now, because I have the stand built and everything, so I have to try to figure out how to make it work with the two tanks being level.

 

[RocketEngineer]

You only need like 4” difference to make it work.

 

[sfin52]

Question regarding plumbing a display refugium. So basically I have a 135g running off of two canister filters and no sump. I am going to plumb a 35g display refugium into the system. My plan was to run a 1inch siphon tube between them and an in-line pump from the 35 into the 135. So in theory the pump would pull water from the 35 gallon and output it into the 135. Then the siphon tube would return water back into the 35 gallon. I set it up and it ran ok. The water started level and then would drain to about 2 inches lower on the 35g and eventually would stop lowering. I’m assuming this happened because the siphon gained enough head pressure to keep up with the pump. I also tried a smaller pump. I’m wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could plump in a display refugium with no sump. Thanks

I did this exact same thing using the canisters as the pumps.
@Katrina71 suggested splatter paint after my paint technique failed.
Oreo (cat) was inspecting the workmanship. Loki (husky) just likes posing.

 

[sfin52]

@Katrina71 thanks for the tag

 

[sfin52]

The safest method would be to have the display fuge sit somewhat higher than the tank, use a gravity drain to go from fuge to display and a pump from display to fuge. This would act just as if the larger tank was the sump.

The dt becomes the sump.

 

[zwalter38]

That stand looks really neat! I do believe I’m making some progress. If I could redo it I would have built the stand for the refugium a bit higher so it would be elevated above the main display tank. However everything is already built and put together. So far I’m at the point of adjusting the water level so when I start the pump it raises the level in the main display far enough to give enough head pressure to the siphon to keep up with the pump. It ends up being about a 2 inch difference in water levels between the two tanks, and then when the pump shuts off the water levels out between the two tanks without spilling. The only issue I’m having is I’d like the water level in the refugium to be higher while the pump is running. However if I raise it the main display will be too high (could overflow) while the pump is running.

 

[sfin52]

That stand looks really neat! I do believe I’m making some progress. If I could redo it I would have built the stand for the refugium a bit higher so it would be elevated above the main display tank. However everything is already built and put together. So far I’m at the point of adjusting the water level so when I start the pump it raises the level in the main display far enough to give enough head pressure to the siphon to keep up with the pump. It ends up being about a 2 inch difference in water levels between the two tanks, and then when the pump shuts off the water levels out between the two tanks without spilling. The only issue I’m having is I’d like the water level in the refugium to be higher while the pump is running. However if I raise it the main display will be too high (could overflow) while the pump is running.

You really need the sump returns above the tank.

 

[sfin52]

That stand looks really neat! I do believe I’m making some progress. If I could redo it I would have built the stand for the refugium a bit higher so it would be elevated above the main display tank. However everything is already built and put together. So far I’m at the point of adjusting the water level so when I start the pump it raises the level in the main display far enough to give enough head pressure to the siphon to keep up with the pump. It ends up being about a 2 inch difference in water levels between the two tanks, and then when the pump shuts off the water levels out between the two tanks without spilling. The only issue I’m having is I’d like the water level in the refugium to be higher while the pump is running. However if I raise it the main display will be too high (could overflow) while the pump is running.

Pics
Mine is so close that it's only about a gallon or so.

 

[zwalter38]

You really need the sump returns above the tank.

It’s not so much a sump as just a 35 gallon macro tank. The top of the 35g is the same height as the 135g. I’ll have to get pics to post when I get home. But as of right now it functions enough just not quite the water level I’d like.