In tank refugium?

[Fishbird]

I’m not really sure which forum is the best one for my question so feel free to move it.

Anyway, if I got a 40 gallon breeder is there any reason that I couldn’t wall off 6” on one end using acrylic with slits or small holes to make an in tank refugium? I could put a syncra nano pump in the fuge section if needed to make sure there is enough flow. I would set the pump on one end of the fuge and aim it so that water flows out of the fuge into the main tank which I hope would make a current where water goes out of the fuge at the pump end and flows into the fuge at the other end.

My goal would be to have some nutrient export help from macros and to make it so my tank has a steady supply of pods for any resident pod eaters (not Dragonets, I just want my fish to be able to hunt and snack between mealtimes as they please).

I would use black acrylic for the wall and I’d have lights set up so the fuge portion was lit at night and the main section was lit during the day.

Does my plan sound like it’s likely to work?

 

[BarSnackz]

Sounds like it would work to me. There are kits that are sold on ebay and other retailers that turn a 40gal into a AIO that might be what you're looking for if you don't want to make the wall yourself.

 

[Peach02]

Only a few problems I see with this, light spillage between the two,
Macro algae clogging up the pump
If your planning the section like a overflow and then water pumped back out, it might be too high flow for the algae to be able to help filter efficiently

 

[Fishbird]

Thanks! I didn’t know I could get AIO kits and I might look at those just for ideas but I also don’t mind making the wall myself.

In terms of light spillage, I’m imagining using something like the JBJ nano glo that would rest against the wall of the fuge section and my current light sits quite low over the display do I think light spillage would be minimal. It is true that I haven’t figured out what to do about the tiny holes in the wall between the sections.

When you say that the pump would get clogged with algae, are you thinking it would be worse than normal? I’m envisioning a circulation pump and I already clean mine out every month just because stuff gets in them.

 

[Peach02]

Being that macro algae grows incredibly fast I think yes it would be worse, cleaning it out monthly should prevent any major problems but you might get weakened flow between cleanings.

 

[Fishbird]

Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot to say that I have macros in my current tank so I’m used to them getting in the pumps. I’d move it all to the fuge section and would be willing to clean pumps more frequently if needed. It probably seems like I’m just contradicting you but I really appreciate having others help me think through potential drawbacks to this setup!