Refugium Help/Ideas ?

[ekudl]

I have a 20 Gl Nano tank that is about 5 months old. I just recently set up a 10 Gl Refugium/Sump underneath my 20, it is cycling right now with two raw shrimp cocktails in it. It is not connected to the main tank yet because I'm not sure how I want to do it. I have read that people use an Overflow box from the Main tank to have the water pass to the sump but I feel that that is an extra level of possible leakage. I am just thinking of having simply two hoses leading in and out of the main and refuge tank, similarly to the way an external filter is hooked up, only the external filter would be the 10 Gl tank. Both tanks are undrilled glass.

I was wondering if anyone has this similar type of config ? And if so why don't more people simply do this instead of going the overflow method? Any ideas, suggestions, comments, on the type of pump used, closed loop, etc. would be greatly appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

are you thinking of raising the 10g to the same level as the 20g?

i am somewhat confused by your post.

 

[esmithiii]

Unless your tank is drilled, an external overflow is your only option. The pump in the sump pumps water up to the main tank where it overflows down into the sump. A siphon is used to flow water up and over the side of the tank. The overflow boxes inside and outside the tank ensure that the siphon is not broken in case of a power outage. It also keeps the amount of water that would siphon out in case of power loss to a minimum.

There is no other safe way to do it.