above tank fuge - no sump

I've got a 55 gal tank and not much else. I'm researching how I can set it up well on a very tight budget. Although I'd love to start off with a sump, I think I can save some money and get a HOB skimmer, but I don't want to skip out on a refugium! ;D I feel the benefits are too good to pass up, and even though I want to save money I don't want to do things "cheap" or wrong!

Since I won't start off with a sump, I want to get a 10-15 gal tank as a refugium and elevate it above the display tank. I'm thinking I could use something like a maxijet 1200 to pump water up to the fuge, then let it drain back down to the DT.

If I set this up, what's a good way to drain the fuge? just cut a hold in the top of the side as a drain? is there any benefit to adding an overflow like you would in a main tank?

Any and all thoughts are welcome!

 

bump....any ideas?

I was thinking about what would happen if the drain from the refugium clogged somehow and the pump kept running. Could end up with water on the floor!

If I put in a baffle on one side and used that as an overflow, I could add a small float switch in the overflow side, which would then shut off the pump if the water raised too much.

I guess I'll keep thinking about it, but it seems reasonable to me

 

Definitely a good idea. Gravity fed fuges are the best way to go if the option is available, so don't think you're cutting corners by going this route. You could drill the tank and install a verticle piece of PVC as an overflow. As long as you don't have any large snails in the fuge it should be pretty clog proof.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm glad to know I'm on the right track