Refugium addon

[cthegame]

Well you could always switch the current sump and flip it and make the sump area the fuge and the skimmer can stay put and the new fuge can be the sump since you havent done it yet...what ya think? is it drilled yet? or you wont drill?

[NewbReefer]

i could drain it and redo the baffles and flip it around, but i've got a 3-4 inch sand bed thats been growing bacteria for a year now that i don't wanna have to disturb if i can help it. i would have to take the sump completly out and redo the entire thing, which isn't the bad thing, the bad thing is i've got a tank relying on that current sump and refugium.

[fatman]

I buy fine aragonite sand from Marine Depot for $20 per 30 pound bag. It is kind of hidden on their site as of course they are trying to move the more expensive sand if they can. It is CaribSea Aragamax brand. The sump refugium looks fine but like mentioned the raw water should go to the skimmer first even though most skimmers can not handle the full flow through the sump they should be preferably offered raw water. Lots of people (when space is not a problem) have a tank (container) just for their skimmer(s) where all water flows before going to the sump/refugium. If you intend on moving an already established sand bed, move it in layers of an inch or so each. Make sure the layers go back in the same order IE. top on top, bottom on bottom. This will minimize the amount of die off of beneficial bacteria. New sand put in a new tank as you show will slowly become a live bed with no nutrient spikes being caused. You can spied up this process by adding a few hand fulls of aged sand to the top of your new sand bed. Three inches deep is at the bottom edge of being considered a deep sand bed with fine sand. A Little deeper is definitely better.

[NewbReefer]

thanks Fatman i've heard caribsea makes a good fine sand, and im gonna need to put in another order for marine depot soon so i'll get a few bags then.

Yeah I think im gonna have to add a seperate section in the new refugium for the skimmer and if i have the pump pulling water from the the first section in the sump and pumping it into the new section where the skimmer is it would be getting raw water.

i plan on a 5-6 inch sand bed depending on what size tubs i can find tomorrow.