DIY refugium?

[gtaudioworks]

Anyone built themselves a DIY refugium out of household items? A local reefer is giving me some chaeto but I have no place to really put it, I have the Red Sea 170 so there’s just not that much space in the sump between my skimmer and mechanical filtration

Wondering if anyones come up with some good ideas for a small refugium, maybe Tupperware with holes drilled in it for flow that will keep the chaeto in?

I built my sump out of a 20 gal tank...I recently added chaeto as an experiment.
It's in a tupperware with holes as you mention. I placed it under the outlet of my carbon reactor so it gets water movement. I light it with a cheap grow led from ebay set on a timer opposite of the light on the display tank.
It has grown very slowly, but my nitrates and phosphates are pretty low, so we will see how it does.
If it grows I plan on adding a plexi baffle in the sump and maybe a small power head for movement. I think I have more room for this, as you said your space is limited.

 

[laezur]

I built my sump out of a 20 gal tank...I recently added chaeto as an experiment.
It's in a tupperware with holes as you mention. I placed it under the outlet of my carbon reactor so it gets water movement. I light it with a cheap grow led from ebay set on a timer opposite of the light on the display tank.
It has grown very slowly, but my nitrates and phosphates are pretty low, so we will see how it does.
If it grows I plan on adding a plexi baffle in the sump and maybe a small power head for movement. I think I have more room for this, as you said your space is limited.

I’ve actually been doing very similar to this since I posted this thread. Had it in Tupperware for maybe the last month and a half now. It was growing very slowly, wasn’t dying off so it must have been working.
Last day or two it got dislodged though and ended up in my skimmer so had to clean it out lol. That’s the only thing you really need to look out for

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

I 3D printed some glass plate holders for my sump and they’ve worked great.

I even printed some for my LFS

 

[laezur]

I 3D printed some glass plate holders for my sump and they’ve worked great.

I even printed some for my LFS

That’s awesome man! Such a creative use of the printer. Love it! No leaching chemicals from that I assume? I don’t know much about 3D printers. Don’t see a lot of them in the UK

 

[Derrick0580]

You can always diy a chaeto reactor. 1 gallon glass jar, flexible strip grow leds from amazon and I ordered a poseiden reef systems reactor lid because I know it will be sealed. Get a maxijet 1200 to feed it and you have a reactor for maybe around $50-$60.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

That’s awesome man! Such a creative use of the printer. Love it! No leaching chemicals from that I assume? I don’t know much about 3D printers. Don’t see a lot of them in the UK

I’ve never seen any issues with leaching or degrading and I use PLA and not the recommended ABS. Being in the sump these prieces never get that much light and the salt doesn’t seem to corrode them, and I’ve had them for years. The only time a 3D printed part corroded was when I printed a random flow nozzle that was directly under my kessils. After about a year it began to thin out and break apart but never saw any negative effects….

 

[MoshJosh]

Some not household parts, but here is my DIY sump/fuge. . . made out of a bucket

 

[mann1139]

Before I added a sump to my 40g, I had a DIY fuge. I drilled holes in a fish bagger (one big, many small), hooked up a maxi-jet, and parked it under the tank lights.

It worked fine, and when it started to get grungy in there, it was easy to take out and clean.