chaeto ?

what if you have your skimmer hanging on the back of your display tank and the overflow for the fuge at the other end?? I have mine set up this way with the fuge return near the skimmer.

 

I agree with you Tangster, but im just saying that I still think there are enought DOC's getting into the fuge

 

as much as tangster and I disagree (he's usually right) I have to agree with him. Your skimmer is the ultimate filter. Instead of just holding the junk in the flow of water, it completely pulls it from the system. If your skimmer is running correctly the water coming out should be completely pure of any doc. this is just my opinion.

 

i cant hang the skimmer on the back because the tank was custom built (made of acrylic and has two square holes in the center, it is almost completely closed)..... i guess i dont know what to do then.... i can not switch the fuge and the sump, becuase the fuge is just a ten gallon tank and the sump is made for the tank and needs to be where it is

 

Well look around at some old strings and anything I have ever posted on a refugium debate is small is most times enough, You either have to large of a refugium compared to the tanks size or bio-load or you need more light or more flows across the cheado. Look I know all now seem to think Cheado is some magic plant , But is not nearly as efficient as many of the Caulerpa species, Cheado needs as fast of water flows as Mangroves darn near.. If you ever went to a slower flow with the use of a type of Caulerpa then you'd never look back at Cheado again. But todays I guess for lack of experience or the newer guys not knowing or lack of info and all the others touting the cheados then you just can't no .

Refugiums are simple a swamp nasty to look at nothing in there to see but mud and bugs and weeds . And you have to use slow flows to allow the solids to settle out and get to the plants root system. I have ran many different types and in as many ways to try and find a good rate of flow and refugium size. Over the yrs I have come up with what works best for myself and many others who have tried the same thing . My fuge is 1/10 or close the size in volume on the tank its supporting and I pass 1/10 the total water volume of the fuge through the fuge per Hr.
100 gal tank 10 gal fuge and then 10 gph through the fuge ..
Like with a lawn you have enough fertilizer to feed what you have for your lawn you try and stretch that to do the guys next door both will suffer from lack of ammonia and Nitrates and Phosphors . You can add some fertilizer to the system or maybe you need to dose a bit of iron ?

I myself have never had algae to not grow or just die out . Kylekin Can you post a picture or somthing to allow us to see what you have ? maybe a better way ?

 

i will get a picture up tomorrow... i took your advice... i replumed the whole system... but neither my sump or fuge is drilled, so i have a water draining from my tank, teed off going to sump and fuge, and there is a pump in my sump going splicing in with a pump from my fuge going back up to the tank... i bought a pond stabilizer from a lfs i am going to hook up to it tomorrow, because it is still not balancing out, it would if they were both gravity fed and only one pump, but i cant do it like that

 

know of any good places to get caulerpa, or any one willing to ship some?

 

here are those pictures

 

Yes I'm know one of the sponsors of this site has it and several other species . what kind of lighting o you have on that thing ? looks awfully dim to me

 

i took the lighting off for now, cause last night i was working on it and it fell in, so it is drying, but it is a 50watt reptile day light bulb