need some help with setting up refug

i have a 55 gallon tank and i want to add a refugium. my tank right now sits on a wall not big enough to set the refug on the side and stand is not big enough to hold anythin. so i will be drilling holes from the storage room behind my tank to run plumbing. i am thinking of using a 20 gallon long tank. what should i use for the baffles and should i use sylicone to hold them?

I will be using a overflow box and was thinking of getting this one overflow box
Reef Aquarium Filtration: Eshopps Overflow Boxes

I was going to use a mag drive 5 will this push the water up 6 feet or so and will these be ok together. I will probably place a ball valve on the return line, should i plump everything with pvc? I have read the return needs to be lower then the oveflow so how will i know how much to adjust the valve on the return?

 

I suspect you'd have nearly no flow using a Mag 5 against 6 ft. of head...

I used 1/4" acrylic baffles in a glass sump, attached (if you will) using silicone. It was my first attempt, messy, and not entirely 100% leak tight from baffle to baffle, but it will get the job done. I had issues finding a glass shop conveniently located, so I went with acrylic from Lowes.... You can plumb with pvc too...

 

alright thanks for the info. I was just thinking about going with the 800gph overflow and the mag 9.5 should i put ball valves on both the overflow and return? will this be too much flow for my size tank?

 

The Mag 9.5 would be excellent, I'm sure. ;D Ball valve on the return if you determine your flow is too strong for some reason--allows you to regulate by restricting the flow. As for the overflow, no ball valve necessary unless you plan on draining via two separate paths and want to limit one of those...e.g. ball valve to the refugium section of the sump; unlimited flow to the skimmer section typically.

 

You could use most any nonreactive item as the baffles in your sump but acrylic is certainly the most popular choice. Assuming that your sump is glass, aquarium safe silicone would definitely be the preferred way to secure your barrels in place.

As to which pump to choose... It is important to appreciate the relationship between pressure and flow and that this varies for each model of pump. It's fairly easy to find the flow-pressure rating for whatever pump you may consider. Also remember that there are 2 components to the pressure that your pump has to push against: the physical height that the water is being lifted (head pressure) and the resistance created as the water flow through you plumbing (static pressure). Static pressure is a much more involved discussion than head pressure but assuming that you won't be pumping over a long distance and that your return line is appropriately sized, you could do a very rough approximation and just add 1 foot to your measured head pressure. Now working with a head pressure of 7 feet you can find that a Mag 5 should flow 125 gph, Mag 7 350 gph, and a Mag 9.5 660 gph. Figuring your system volume @ ~60 gal a Mag 5 will turn turn your volume over 2 times per hour (probably not enough). The Mag 7 comes in around 5-6 x/hr and should be sufficient for flow through your sump especially if you have power heads for additional directed flow in the tank. The Mag 9.5 would turn your system volume over 11 x/hr. This is probably more than you need just for flow through the sump. It is true that you can dial back the flow with a ball valve on the return line but... Oversizing your pump costs you money up front for the bigger pump, more electricity consumed, and more heat added to your tank.

 

I would definitely recommend a mag 9.5 return. Thats what I use for my 75 w/ 20 fuge. I did have to add a ball valve like mentioned but its better to have too much return pump then not enough. I am likewise using a 20L not and what I am considering myself/recommending is to consider a 29 or maybe a 30L. I say this cause once you add in baffles/skimmer/fuge area/return pump your actual fuge area gets real small. So if your considering an actual sand/rock/macro fuge area a 30 long is gonna give you extra area. A 29 is a taller tank & gives you a little reassurance in the event of a power failure or backflow emergency. I have a gate installed on my return line but it still comes pretty close to the top during the one power failure I experienced.

 

well i put the mag 9.5 on there and even with the ball valve open all the way on my t fitting it was way to much so i am going with a mag 5.

 

Why don't you also put a ball valve on the t-side that I'm assuming goes to the fuge part also. Then you dont need a new pump.

 

my ball valve is on the t side