refugium size quickly

I'm ready to make my sump. How wide does a refugium need to be? Is a 12x12 footprint sufficient for a refugium? Whats the common size people use?


the sump will be a 55g with a 48"x12" footprint. my idea was

13x12 for the skimmer.

2" length needed for bubble trap

12x12" for the refugium


This leaves me with 29x12 return section. Any issues with this?

 

i would make the fuge maybe a bit bigger.
rule of thumb is fuge should be roughly 10 percent of display tank.

imo the return section doesnt have to be that large. maybe a 12x12 for that

 

I would say find the return pump that your going to use because my return area is maybe 5 by 12 which gave me the most room for my fuge. its only a 20 gallon sump with a 10 gallon ATO but check out my pic of it in my profile. hope it helps

 

I'd make the return section a lot smaller, and extend your fuge.

 

the only prob with making the return real small is that the evaporation is going to happen there. if you dont have a ato it may run dry quickly. you have alot of room and i think a 12x12 will be good. enough room for return pump and a reactor and heater

 

return pump will most likely be mag drive 1800.

I was going to reduce the return size, but after reading the return should be as large as possible to avoid evaporation issues.

No, i don't have ATO.


DBOSHIBBY: 12x12 refugium or 12x12 return?

 

12x 12 for the return area would be good imo

 

how big is the display tank??

 

125G - 72 x 18 x 24

 

If you are just going to put a return pump in your return section, and no reactors...12x12 should be fine.