Eshopps' New Refugium

Eshopps has a new refugium on the way and something tells me they were listening to some of you from that dream sump thread on their 3reef sponsor board a while back. Check it out below. Skimmer compartment first, then big refugium and pump return. For those of you that want the fuge first, then skimmer - well they have that too with their current R series. More cool stuff from Eshopps.


Eshopps' New Refugium



Eschopp's 3reef Board:
Eshopps Inc. - 3reef Forums

Eshopps' Web site:
Eshopps: Refugiums

 

oh wow......thats nice!!!

they should call it the "3R" series *grin*

 

awesome! adjustable skimmer height is great!

 

The adjustable skimmer height is definitely a plus, but I feel there are still design flaws.

I don't like the filter pads on either end instead of a bubble trap. They need to be cleaned or replaced regularly. (at least weekly if not more often) Also the openings don't look very wide, easily clogged?

There is also no way to control flow thru the fuge which conventional wisdom says should be approx 10% of the tank volume hourly, but if you run a skimmer in the sump you'll need 10 times that to keep it from running dry.

Last there is very little capacity for siphon back flow during a power outage, that also means there is an issue with evaporation considering the very tight compartment has little room for a redundant ATO. And God forbid your thinking about running any reactors.

For my money I'll stick to building my own for now.

 

Interesting points. To be fair, I think we are looking at a smaller version - so if you have a bigger tank, there will be a version that is rated for that and would handle the backflow I think. Louie from Eshopps will probably step in here with that.

As for the pads, I don't think you need them, but your point is still valid if you do - gotta stay up on maintenance there.

Flow rates - on the gravity fed one I built a while ago that is above my sump - I turned the sump pump down to reduce flow through it. But I hear what you are saying with the skimmer although people debate that a bit.

And people seem to be debating the flow rate through the refugiums. At the MAX show recently I actually brought this up during Justin Credibel's workshop... he subscribes to the max flow belief - he is getting good results with that at Underwater World. I am a bit with you though - at least to have control over it... I seemed to have found a sweet spot with mine recently... maybe the best solution here is also the ball-valve on the sump pump.

 

Sorry Matt, I didn't set out to rip it apart, thats just what came out when I was done typing.

There will always be debates on methods and specs, but thats how we learn more about what does and doesn't work in the long run.
I did actually set up my 20L in this config when I set up my 90 back in July, by October I pulled it apart and redesigned it using a 40 breeder, so far I'm much happier with it now.

 

No worries! I think you brought up some great points for discussion. A 40 breeder is a sweet size for a sump.

 

nobody else have any opinions?

 

Honestly, you said all of mine.

 

personally I feel that e-shopps stuff is a bit overpriced for what you get. I do like their products if they weren't so expensive