Questions about initial refugium setup

Right now I am using a 10 gallon eShopps sump for a 29 gallon reef tank that I would like to add coral to down the road. There is no refugium of any kind in there but I was thinking of adding a piece of live rock into the big chamber of my sump that also contains the protein skimmer along with adding some chaeto from reefcleaners. I have a T5HO light that was used on an old 10 gallon tank.

Would this be OK for a basic refugium setup?

 

can you post a pic of your set up?

Any way of adding a seperate tank to the system, even a little 5G?

 

You really need to have a separate area for the fuge. You should not put any macro in with your skimmer. You will be taking a chance of getting the chaeto in the pump. Also rock is not needed in a fuge. The fuge is for nutrient export. I have a deep sand bed and chaeto in my 30 gallon fuge.

I agree that you should try to put a separate tank. Even with a small pump to pump from your fuge into the new tank and then overflow back into the sump. IMO your overflow from your fuge should go into your return section. I am not a fan of skimming fuge water since you will be skimming and killing the pods in it.

 

+1 on a separate tank and fuge overflow to the return section. For my QT system, I use a little WalMart storage tote (maybe 5 gallons) as the fuge. I drilled some holes in the sides for bulk head fittings and pump to it with a powerhead and let it gravity drain back to the QT.

Any way you can get a little tank or plastic tote in your stand above your sump? Run a powerhead from the return section to the fuge and let the fuge overflow to the return section.

 

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of space underneath my cabinet. I would not be opposed to putting a small tank next to my aquarium. I actually have an old 10 gallon tank I could use...what would be the best way to plumb it into the system? should I put a small pump in my sump pushing water to the 10 gallon tank and drill an overflow on the 10 gallon system that returns to the return compartment of my aquarium?

 

That will work
http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/step-step-pics-my-diy-fuge-57933.html
Here is how I did mine...bigger scale, but hope it will spark some ideas for you.