Sump and Refuge Questions

[Chago09]

I am going to be having bioballs in my sump because I am doign a FOWLR and will only have 80lbs of live rock with like 30lbs of baserock in a 150 gallon. So I want to make sure I have some extra bio filtration and will be adding bioballs to do that.

1.) first question is do bioballs need to be out of the water in the sump??? or can they be totally submerged???

2.) Does anyone have a good model for a wetdry/refuge in the same container???

3.) How strong of a light is required in a refuge???

4.) If a 30 gallon container is used for a wet/dry and a refuge, then only about 15 gallons can be used for refuge. Will this even make a dent in my 150 gallons nitrates??? or will monthly water change be better since, I am a FW discus owner and monthly waterchanges are like not even funny how good that sounds.

[Randall_James]

1. Either, but if they are setup like a freshwater tank, you will get a little better oxygenation.

2. wet/dry is a bit contradictory to a refuge, trying to make it both is probably not worth the trouble. Just settle for "wet" if you want a refuge. (is what I would do)

3. 75-100W PC floodlight works great (replaces conventional floodlight)

4. If nothing else, it provides a place for heaters and other gear out of sight of the display, and yes it will provide water quality improvement in nutrient export...

IMO Monthly water changes are out....7 to 10 days much better idea.. trying to avoid "swings" in water quality as much as possible..

[Chago09]

good call..... one more question is there such thing as too small of a sump???? like would a 10 gallon sump not even be worth the trouble on this size tank????

[drummereef]

A 10 gallon is probably not worth the effort and doesn't have enough space to safeguard you from a powerloss. For a 150 gallon I'd do no less than a 40g breeder size, imo.