Refugium struggle

Keramio · Dec 4, 2020

Hi,
I would like to know your opinion on this. I have a display tank and I am planning on adding a refugium to keep up with my display. I am thinking about either a hang on the back refugium. Or a second tank 20g that I have right next to my display (both are at the same water level) and I could turn it in a refugium very easily. This "refugium" tank has been running for some time, but it is mostly uninhabitated but well cycled. It already has kind of two chambres. The first section would have cheato and manual filter in it. The second section would house my protein skimmer, ATO and heater. The hang on the back refugium would be easier to install but I would lose up on manual filtration and place to put my heater and skimmer. Is it worth it and even possible to "add" this second tank. Or is it OK to just have cheato in the hang on the back refugium.
My display is a 40g tank with 2x AI Primes HD I spot feed my corals once a week and broadcast feed them also once a week. I have three fish clownfish, damsel and a sifting goby.
I mainly want the refugium as a nutrient export and to add some diversity like pods.
What do you think?
Thanks for any opinions or advice.

Ron Reefman · Dec 4, 2020

Is the HOB fuge a lot less water volume?

I'd go with using the second tank and try to keep it kind of like a display refugium.

Keramio · Dec 4, 2020

The HOB one is way less it is around one third the size of the refugium tank. Do you think mixing the water from those two tanks slowly will be fine? That is what I am worried about mostly. But the display refugium sounds pretty good that is what I had in mind.

fish farmer · Dec 4, 2020

How are you planning on getting water to and from the 20 gal? It sound like you basically want the 20 gal to act as a sump/refugium.

Keramio · Dec 5, 2020

fish farmer said:
How are you planning on getting water to and from the 20 gal? It sound like you basically want the 20 gal to act as a sump/refugium.

I will be pumping water from the dispay in the 20g via a pump. From the 20g I thought of putting a hose there with an ongoing siphon transfering the water back in the display. I tried it with two small containers as an experiment and it worked as I intended. And yes the 20g will be a "display" refugium to some degree.

Ron Reefman · Dec 5, 2020

If you are going to feed the water from the sump to the DT with a siphon system, be sure the siphon has a small vacumn pump that can suck air out of the siphon tube.

AIf you were building this system new, I'd suggest the 2 tanks be close enough together that you could just do a bulkhead down low in the side or back of both tanks so the water could flow back to the DT without a siphon.

As for mixing the water from the two tanks... I assume they are both in good shape and the parameters are similar? Then do a slow acclimation by mixing some water back and forth manually before you turn on the pump.