refugium idea using 4' tall hex tank...good or bad?

[Anonymous]

space is too limited under my tank for a refugium. and the existing sump has no place for a sandbed. also, considering that i only have 1/2'' of CC and my protein skimmer doesn't seem to be skimming much lately, i want the added filtration, water volume and somewhere else to grow out my macro algeas.

the acrylic tank is 4' tall and 1' wide. it's one of those custom hexagon jobs. the idea is to have a hang on overflow that gravities back down to the main tank. i figure about a 7' DSB (unless i could get away with even deeper), a pvc skeleton to place LR up the back side, a 175W MH pendant, and a couple of small powerheads inside to avoid stratification.

please help me out with the pros/cons

thanks,
chris

 

[2poor2reef]

The only problem I see with your design is getiing a 7' sand bed in a 4' deep tank

. While reef tanks are best wide and shallow, you could argue that a macro dominated refugium could well benefit by being taller rather than wide. Plenty of room for macro growth. The dsb though would benefit from being wider, so the tradeoff is dsb vs. macro. Cleaning a deeper tank is more difficult also but since it's a refugium I guess it doesn't matter as much.

 

[Anonymous]

Just get an Eclipse system 7 or 12,drill a hole and add a bulkhead about 4 inches from the top. From the bulkhead have a return to the tank. Then add a pump from the tank to the sump. Gravity will take the water to the main tank. The eclipse will have the light and added circulation for the refuge.This is a very simple gravity fed refuge I will add to the next tank I get.

GL

Dan