How to create a refugium in an existing 10g sump?

[jacobc1199]

I am looking to create a refugium in my existing 10g sump which is a standard 10g leader for the purpose of sustaining a healthy copepod and microfauna population rather than nutrient export. I've kicked around a few ideas of how to accomplish this however I'm running into a few problems:

1.) As this is an existing sump I want to keep the downtime to a minimum so I want to avoid something involved such as cutting out glass or acrylic baffles and siliconing them into place for a day or two.
2.) The skimmer I have is a holdout internal skimmer from the days where I was sump-less so it is designed to run at a high water level (9-10 inches) so any baffle kit I find wouldn't work with my skimmer.
3.) If I really wanted to avoid these problems I would replace the skimmer or get a proper sump, however, I want this to be a budget-friendly DIY-solution.

My solution to this problem was to get some egg-crate or other stiff, perforated material and secure it to make a refugium sandwich that would allow water to flow through but not interfere with the water level. Let me know if anyone else has done something similar to this and if it worked or if you have a better idea!

 

[Greg P]

Due to limited space in your current sump ... HOB filter? Such as an AquaClear

 

[nick0206]

I don’t know if my experience will help you.
About 10 years ago I had an 18 gallon tank without sump. The tank was on the rack and there was no place for a sump from below, so I decided to make him an additional refugium. At 2 meters from the tank was not a tall cupboard on which I could place the refugium. I glued it from PVC using Super 7 silicone glue. Placed a pump in the tank, it seems 150 gallons per hour to supply water to the refugium, and on the opposite side - drain back into the tank. Also made a partition in the refugium so that the pieces of haetamorpha did not fall into the drain.
Well, LED lighting, also made myself. An aluminum profile was purchased and LED lamps were placed on it along the entire length.
Everything was done at the minimum cash cost.

 

[SMSREEF]

Do you have room a 5 gallon bucket next to sump?
Take a look at this thread...

HD bucket as Refugium

Has anyone tried this? My thought...tee of my return to HD bucket set up with a uniseal that will serve as my overflow back into the return chamber of my sump. Fuge light hanging over it. Autoaqua smart level above overflow to shut off return pump if level gets too high. I think this will be a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[nick0206]

Do you have room a 5 gallon bucket next to sump?
Take a look at this thread...

HD bucket as Refugium

Has anyone tried this? My thought...tee of my return to HD bucket set up with a uniseal that will serve as my overflow back into the return chamber of my sump. Fuge light hanging over it. Autoaqua smart level above overflow to shut off return pump if level gets too high. I think this will be a...

www.reef2reef.com

Almost the same idea, but I just wanted to keep 2 seahorses in the refugium. The water movement of display tank was too strong for seahorses.
Dual-use refugium.

 

[burnetb1]

I have seen people make eggcrate "sandwiches" for cheato that seem to work well. They zip-tie two pieces of eggcrate together with a small, maybe 1-2" spacer. The cheato grows between the eggcrate and when its time to harvest you simplly shave the two sides and put it back in the sump. Not my photo below, this was taken from google.