refugium water flow

[mavric65]

Hello all

I would like a some input on how much waterflow should go through a refugium ... I have my plumbing split into a sump and refugium with ball valves controling the flow to each........ There seems to be alot of controversy about this to all i have talked to at the local stores and read on the net ..........In the past all i used was wet/dry filters but want to do this tank different......... All input would be greatly appreciated

 

[Chris]

Wow, qood question. My refugium was a 30 gallon tank with two 600gph pumps returning water to the main tank. But the way my refugium is desinged is to mainly have the surface water move and not the deep water. My .02$

 

[jhnrb]

There is no exact flow rate. it all depends on what you are trying to do. for example. the min. flow would be at least the volume of the refuge each hour. now if you are trying to use the refuge as a filter, nitrate remover you would increase the flow so that you had a gentle flow through that allowed the sediment to settle out and the algae to use up as much of the nitrates etc as possible before returning to the main system. if you wanted to use the refuge as a food production source, then you would speed up the flow through a bit but only to the point where there was some circulation in the lower areas. if you want to use it for both, somewhere in between the two. it also depends on how you set up the refuge. i.e. see my refuge in the photography forum. since I will be using live rock, and mainly want a food source and some nitrate removing I will initially start with a turn over of not more than 4 times an hour. I will adjust from there depending on how the refuge works. Normally the refuge is not fast water, too quickly and the plants cannot remove the nitrates quick enough, too slow and the sediment builds. so if you have sand cleaners, copepods, amphipods, algae, a turn over of 4 times an hour is a good place to start and adjust form there. now there will be diff opinions on this so no magic just think through what you are trying to do and provide the proper water movement for what you are trying to do. Hope something here helps

 

[mavric65]

thanks for the input guys i will try these ideas out

 

[Bifferwine]

I recently made a sump/refugium out of a divided 20 gallon tank, even though the flow is relatively fast through the entire thing (my overflow box is rated at 600 gph) I've found the fuge stays pretty quiet because the moving water tends to skim across the surface and over the next baffle. I think it probably depends on your setup and what you are trying to accomplish (I'm growing chaeto and pods in the fuge).