drnihili
04/05/2010, 10:25 AM
I've had a Biocube 29 running for about 3 years now doing "ok" but not great. We're upgrading to a 60 gallon corner aquarium that we got second hand and I have a few questions about flow and filtration.
The tank has been running off a ViaAqua 750 canister (315gph) for filtration and a Danner 3 (350gph) just for flow. I'm thinking about shifting to a refugium setup up and moving the canister over to my freshwater tank. That would put 350gph through a 10-15 gallon refugium and I would add at least 600 gph in powerheads to increase flow within the tank. Figure about 75 lbs of rock, BRS Reef Saver or better quality. My main concern is whether I have enough or too much flow through the sump/refugium. Should I leave the canister on for the extra filtering? I'd appreciate any feedback on this setup.
I'll be building the refugium from scratch. I assume it's best to devote as much possible space to the actual refugium and leave only enough non-refugium area to house the return pump and a small intake area. I'm planning on putting the skimmer, heater, and some LR in the refugium itself. Is this correct?
Finally, since I'll be replacing the current drain line in the tank with a skimmer, I'd like to take the opportunity to update the return line. Currently, water is returned via a 1" vertical pipe with three of those flexible nozzle things (I'm sure they must have a name, but I don't know it). I could just leave that, but I've considered running a pipe down the back corner then splitting it and running two pipes under the sand to have two returns just above sand level at opposite corners. Would this be better? Given sufficient flow from powerheads in the tank, does it really matter where I put the return from the fuge?
Thanks in advance.
The tank has been running off a ViaAqua 750 canister (315gph) for filtration and a Danner 3 (350gph) just for flow. I'm thinking about shifting to a refugium setup up and moving the canister over to my freshwater tank. That would put 350gph through a 10-15 gallon refugium and I would add at least 600 gph in powerheads to increase flow within the tank. Figure about 75 lbs of rock, BRS Reef Saver or better quality. My main concern is whether I have enough or too much flow through the sump/refugium. Should I leave the canister on for the extra filtering? I'd appreciate any feedback on this setup.
I'll be building the refugium from scratch. I assume it's best to devote as much possible space to the actual refugium and leave only enough non-refugium area to house the return pump and a small intake area. I'm planning on putting the skimmer, heater, and some LR in the refugium itself. Is this correct?
Finally, since I'll be replacing the current drain line in the tank with a skimmer, I'd like to take the opportunity to update the return line. Currently, water is returned via a 1" vertical pipe with three of those flexible nozzle things (I'm sure they must have a name, but I don't know it). I could just leave that, but I've considered running a pipe down the back corner then splitting it and running two pipes under the sand to have two returns just above sand level at opposite corners. Would this be better? Given sufficient flow from powerheads in the tank, does it really matter where I put the return from the fuge?
Thanks in advance.