Overhead Refugium

[Samw]

I plan to set up an overhead refugium so that I can run my system with reverse photoperiod in the refugium. The plan is to use reverse photoperiod to stablize my tank's DO and PH levels by having photosynthesis occuring 24/7. It is my hope that this will reduce the amount of Acropora and Montipora deaths in my system by keeping DO high around 80-120% (instead of 60-120%) and PH around 8.2-8.4 (instead of 7.7-8.4).

I don't have a lot of space to put the overhead refugium. I can fit a tank with a footprint of about 9"x12". Something like an Eclipse 6 would fit but I would prefer a true rectangular shaped tank. I would also prefer acrylic. Is there such a thing? Something tall would be nice too as I would like to get more volume of water in the refugium.

I've never set up a refugium so I wouldn't know how to plumb it. I guess I'll need a bulkhead and some pipes. Suggestions for articles on plumbing?

[Rikko]

I believe a standard 5 gallon glass aquarium would fit that. Anything acrylic and you're probably looking at a custom job (or a Rubbermaid-style container). Depending on where the tank is located, you may not want the sides transparent at all (my tank is near my bed, so no chance for reverse photoperiod unless I were to paint the glass).

Plumbing is rather dead simple, though there are many approaches to fuge plumbing lately.. Anthony Calfo has been a strong proponent of utilizing heavy water flow (I think he said he keeps his chaeto rolling at all times and it grows like stink), whereas traditional fuge culture has opted for slower water flow. I guess it really depends on the types of algae you are going to culture.. I really found that the coolest incidental algae growing in my tank always popped up right in front of my surge output. Maybe high flow is the answer, or an extra powerhead within the fuge to keep things movin'.

Speaking of surges, here's what I did with my fuge:

http://rikko.no-ip.org/aquaria/surge.jpg

I combined it with a Borneman surge so that the top 4.5 gallons or so actually surge back into the tank. That's an early shot.. Since then I've cleaned it up some. Pod populations are soaring, the halymenia you see there went through a bit of a dieoff (all I keep hearing is you can't transfer it very well) and is showing new growth, and the chunks of LR in there are sporting new stuff too.
(And on the business end of the surge in the display I just had some cool turtleweed, mermaid cups, and scroll algaes start coming up)

If you just want to plumb it simply, you really just need a bulkhead coming in and out, and just mentally treat the fuge like your display and the display like a sump would be.. Same principle, only you want to limit the ugly equipment on the bottom side.

[Samw]

Thanks for the reply. I like your surge device.

Currently, I have a small 4.5g TruVu acrylic tank that I could use. It looks like this one from the gallery (Ke Le Fe's tank). It fits but I wanted to see if there is a similar one that is taller or slightly longer so I can get 6 or 7 gallons instead of 4.5. Otherwise, I'll make do with this one as I'm not sure if I want to get a custom made one.

I have a spare Maxijet 600 that I can use to pump the water into the refugium. So the turnover is going to be very high. I'd like to get 3 or 4 types of algaes. Its not clear yet how I would hook up the maxijet to the pipes that go into the fuge. Do I use flex tubing? Its also not clear what attaches to the bulkhead. Do I get pipes from Home Depot to connect it to the bulkhead? I plan to just use 1 bulkhead (for the fuge outflow). Water going into the fuge will just come in from through pipes above and into the fuge.

The fuge will be in my bedroom but it will be in a nook and I'm going to add a door to the nook so I can sleep at night with the fuge lights on.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1210pic1-med.JPG

[Rikko]

That's a pretty slick lookin' tank! I have plans for that type of nano cube for my desk one of these days.

The MJ600 should suffice - but DO remember that powerheads suffer under head, so the higher the fuge is, the less flow you'll get. Worst case I guess is you pick up a MJ1200 for 35 bucks.

You can use either flex tubing or PVC. Both make one end of the job easy and the other horribly difficult. :rolleyes:
If you use flex tubing, you have a problem connecting it to the bulkhead. I'm pushing water into my fuge using an Aquaclear 802 powerhead. The output of the powerhead is flex tubing (clear vinyl stuff), and it runs to a 1/2" threaded bulkhead I picked up at J&L. Vinyl hose has the nice property of holding a grotesquely larger shape if you work it... Hold it in boiling water for a few seconds and then use a couple pairs of pliers to yank it wide open.. Holding it there, throw it in some ice water for a few seconds. If it's cooled enough, the hose will stay extra large (I think you can double the radius, though I've never had the strength and endurance to get it that wide). Now it can be slipped over the bulkhead (if the threaded bit sticks *out* from the fuge). Submerge the hose/bulkhead in boiling water again and the hose will shrivel back to its original size. Let it cool and I can almost guarantee that you'll never, ever get that hose off.
The other option is PVC. You can get regular white PVC from Rona/HD and cement it to the buklhead.. Nice fit. Except now connecting the PVC to the powerhead becomes a pain in the rear. I suppose you could also meet flex tube and PVC halfway up...
But that assumes you're using a bulkhead for the input.. Which I actually strongly recommend. Just having a hose come up and sit inside adds another potential fail point (suppose whatever is holding the hose in slips out) - you can do some fancy footwork to avoid that, but personally I don't know if I'd like the look of it.

For the return, you can actually do something neat (just thought of this).. Might as well do a PVC return down into the tank.. Instead of just letting the water fall in (or to the side if you add a PVC elbow), check out King Ed. They've got these rotating attachments you can connect to any powerhead, similar to a PowerSweep. I wish I remembered the company name right now.. Starts with an 'H'.. 5 letters.. If you walk in it's on a small endcap at the back of the dry fish food aisle beside all the light tubes. It was about $15 and had a pretty good review on RC a while back. What it does it constantly rotates 360 degrees as long as water is flowing through it, so you'll get a mini wave device instead of a steady current.

Are you a light sleeper? I tend to be a pretty heavy sleeper, but some sounds drive me nuts and prevent me from falling asleep (ie. when one of my Aquaclear powerheads clogs up it makes this horrible grinding/whining sound). The surge and flow from it, believe it or not, are actually rather soothing once you get used to it after a couple of nights. You might find that the water moving through the fuge circuit is actually relaxing (if you can even hear it).

[Samw]

Darn. Just measured the tank and found out it is only 3.5g. Quite useless. I'll have to get a custom-built tank. Thanks for mentioning the wavemaker thing. I'll look for it. I have a really good idea what I need and want to do now. Can't wait to set it up.

[Samw]

Does anyone have opinions about Plexi Plus in Vancouver for building small acrylic tanks? It says in the Yellow Pages that they build fish tanks.

[kari]

Why not build your own acrylic tank when looking for something of that size. Maybe some precut 1/4" panels and some methalene chloride could save you a few bucks.

[Samw]

I might consider doing that if the cost of a custom built one is too high. Thanks.