Refugium? mud vs. cat litter etc.

its just a tank with an overflow going back into the system. the fuge is a seperate eco system with low flow, no need for baffles.

 

I want to make sure I am explaining myself correctly. I am guessing there would be three chambers. One for the protein skimmer and water in, one for the substrate, and one for the pumps to return the water to the main tank. In this setup wouldn't you need baffles?

 

baffles are different than chambers
chambers have an outflow to the next chamber
baffles control flow within a chamber

 

What is a good resource to follow for diy refugium. Also, if I choose to by one do you have any suggestions?

 

i just use two acrylic aquariums
one the fuge draining into the sump
the other the sump
weld-on 16 and weld-on 40 works wonders on acrylic

 

On that note. A new situation has arised. I have an opportunity for someone who has some extra glass to put together a 48 inch long by 16 inch high by 17 inch wide (total of 56g completely full). Would this be an adequate tank if I was planning to include a skimmer, refugium, and internal return pump.

 

I'm using an old 55 for my sump/fuge on my 110. It's split into 3 chambers with the fuge in the middle. The main tank drains into the return section where I have two pumps. A mag 9.5 returning water to the tank and a smaller pump pushing water into the 3rd chamber where I've got the skimmer. The skimmed water then flows very slowly into the fuge which in turns flows into the return section. The return section is the biggest (that's were the water level changes due to evaporation) and the rest of the 55 is divided evenly between the skimmer section and fuge section. Water flow through your fuge should only be about 10% of your total tank volume per hour, very slow flow. I've got a baffle between the skimmer and fuge to stop bubbles but it probably really isn't needed.