Remote live rock

I have a 220 gallon fowlr with some big predators I would like to atleast have a lb per gallon of live rock however I do not want 220 lbs in the main display. I have no room in my sump. I do have room under my cabinet for another tank/sump. Would there be a way to run another tank with just live rock in it without it being a detrious and nitrate trap?

 

Yes, it's called a refugium

Put a tank in that location, plumb it into your sump and put in a deep sand bed, rock and a bunch of critters.

 

I'm well aware what a refugium is. I have one in the main 90 gallon sump. So you don't think id see alot of detris build up in the remote " refugium" if that's what you want to call it

 

Lots of critters and flow will minimize detritus accumulation. I think that almost all refugiums are pretty much remote, so you could probably just call it a refugium (or a double refugium lol). You could also just upgrade the size of the sump and have it all in one. I would be afraid to have the system dependent on two pumps. One is fine because if it breaks, water will stop overflowing. But with two pumps its a different story. Make sure you account for this.

 

I run a reeflo hammerhead and I have another on back up.. so flow for my is not an issue..I could pretty much run anything I want

 

I meant flow in the fuge to keep detritus from settling in there, a hammerhead may be a little much though. I'll take your extra one, just send it on over and I'll put it to good use! ;D

 

Oh its turned wayyyy back. I also have a 65 and a 90 gallon plumped to the same system. Got the pair of pumps used for 200. So if I hooked up a remote refugium and had a lot of flow through it this idea could work?

 

I can't see why not... Just be careful with the double. You may want to put the pump on some sort of float switch. Lets say the pump that is pumping water from your current sump to the new refugium is called pump #1, and the one pumping water from the new refugium to the display tank is called pump #2.

If the unfortunate event occurred that pump #1 were to break... Pump #2 would continue to pump the available water in the fuge up to the DT. And water would continue to overflow and siphon down to the sump, and the sump could potentially overflow. If pump #2 were to break, then pump #1 would continue to pump water from the sump to the fuge, possibly causing the fuge to overflow. If you make it so that the water levels are low enough that they will not overflow, then you are safe. You could alternatively put the pumps on float switches. For example, if the water level in the fuge became too high, then pump #1 would shut off until the water level came down. You should test this by unplugging them one at a time, and both together. Hope that made sense lol. Just giving you things to think about.

 

It's exactly what I do in mine - I've got a 125 set up as a remote fuge and have a decent flow running through it.

 

I would think that you have some bristle worms in there and some snails that detritus would not be a big issue.