reef rig or just sump

[draco]

Just got a 90 gal up graded from a 55 gal and now we have a mega flow sump and were wondering your pros and cons of a reef rig or plain sump wich is better thanks for your input

[Ruth]

What the heck is a reef rig?

[BCOrchidGuy]

I'm with Ruth, what is it?

Doug

[demon666]

i too am wondering

[draco]

i was told that is what you call a sump that has live rock and algea and things like that. i know that there is a longer name but i am not sure what it is.

[Jason McK]

I think you are refering to a refugium or Fuge

I would vote for a fuge to help export Nitrates. But it's not 100% required

J

[mark]

thinking a sump that includes a refugium.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I also prefer having a sump/refugium. In-sump skimmers tend to be more efficient than HOBs & you can solve the micro-bubbles problem more easily. I hide my heater & extra live rock in there, as well as lots of macro algae. A couple of simple clip on CFL screw in bulbs (27w Phillips Daylight bulb) is plenty of light for that setup. Or if you go with a Metal halide or PC, then you can change it into a frag tank.

Anthony

[draco]

When filling the tank and the sump for the first time what should the levels of the water be ? Should the tank be full and the sump at the max level or what?
please help

[demon666]

when i filled mine for the first time i filled the tank all the way up first.... including the overflow.... then filled the sump to where i figured the water levels would be..... then i turned on the return pump..... i had to keep adding water till the water levels evened out to where i wanted them as the pump filled the return pipeing and the remainder of the tank to get that perfect turn over........

[Ruth]

Well you learn something new every day. Reef Rig it is:mrgreen: I prefer to have a refugium as well.
When I was trying to determine how full to have my sump/fuge I like to fill it so that the water is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the volume of the sump with everything running. Then I turn everything off - simulating a power failure to make sure that there is enough room for the back siphon of water without overflowing.