Confused ??

Here's the senerio,

Wife allows you to use empty garage to hold all your equipment for a 125 gallon reef tank. ( plumbed thru the wall ) You have the tank, stand and some used equipment. The LR is currently getting Nuked and its time to start on the Refuge ...but you can't decide on what size to use ???

You have all the room in the world to use .....What size refuge would you need ....not going over board in cost or space ? I have read and read ....I see pros and cons ...but at this point its just getting to be to much information!

Would like an experienced opinion please .... simple, cost effective and useable. I was leaning towards a standard 55 gallon ...but don't want to learn later on that i should have gone bigger as most people I see are using smaller only beacause of the dimensions below their tank. I have all the room....just need an experience opinion please.

 

Not overly experienced but I would go with a 55 gallon fuge. It is a very cheap tank that would be more than large enough for that sized DT.

 

Agreed, a 55 would be a good size.

 

If you really wanted to go overboard you could go with two 55s. One as a fuge and one as a sump but I'd just use the one. KISS is my motto especially where water and electricity are concerned.

 

We use 40 gallon (because we had it and it fit)under the 120 and it is plenty big. I wish it had been about 6" shorter due to not enough shelves now for misc. supplies.

 

I have a 50 gallon under my 120g but that because of the limited space.

If i had as much room as you i would go with a used tank but a big one. Originally what i wanted to do was to have a big fuge. Add sand and live rock in there and arrange it just like a tank with T5's to come on at night so i could ease the pH swing without having to add buffers and other things.

I would get a 90 gallon tank or bigger and dedicate a big part of it for the fuge.

The fuge would develop very fast because it would get great lighting, ton of co2 when its lit and ton of O2 when lights are off.

 

Thanks for replies ....I was told and that i didn't need a sump only a fuge....but I do see alot of people running both ? The fuge only would take out alot of " issues " related to water flow, filters etc. BUT.... i still see lots running the sump and fuge system?

Hense the confusion !

 

infamous...thats what i was told ...run a larger fuge only and good lights/ lots of plants then no need for sump ?? As this will just sit in garage I can have more water, lots of space and helps to control the water chemistry ....

Thanks all for replies ....this really helps

 

The LFS has a 55 fuge running to control several 20 gal tanks ...and its a true fuge they call it...55 gallon Full of water and plants ...no baffles just closed system ?

 

Well you can have a sump and a fuge as seperate tanks but with a tank that big you can just divide the tank.

60% would be fuge and 40% can be the sump. You can just do everything in one tank. I have seen fancier setups where sump and fuge are seperated. Just depends on your budjet and time.