Setting up a refugium

Pretty new to the refugium concept (actually marine systems as well ).Trying to build my own link from the main tank which is kept side by side to the refugium tank ( I have attached a pic ofcourse which tested my Paintbrush skills ;D )



Will this setup be successful. What all should i keep in mind? I am also doubtful on the water levels that needs to be maintained on both the tanks. I do not have a sump but i run 2 Canister filters with lots of carbon+peat+bio balls in it. I do run a Protein skimmer currently

I have got hold of some red macro algae. Planning to get some caulerpa tomorrow. I would also like to know if pods (copepods/amphipods) all grown on their own from these algae or do we need to introduce all these stuff atleast once

I am really sorry for all those questions but please do consider me as a newbie to your world

 

The two pumps will not move water at the same rate. You really need to use an overflow to keep a constant water level or you will end up with a wet floor and a burned out pump.

 

+1 your better off slightly raising the refugium and allowing it to gravity feed back into the main DT.

 

+1 with both post above.

 

I agree with the previous posts.

Welcome to 3reef.

Why are you using peat in a marine tank, it creates nitrate issues and will lower the pH and remove any alkalinity you have.

If you have live rock you don't need the bio balls. You will need to clan the filters thoroughly every week to maybe two weeks to keep from having nitrate problems.

 

Thanks for all the replies...I have been a freshwater guy for some time and i breed discus fishes...But like i mentioned earlier i am pretty new to marine
Can someone guide me on how to DIY an overflow.
Also how do you think the setup would fare better?
1. Place a powerhead in the refuge and pump out the water into the main DT (or do i place the powerhead in the DT and pump into the Refuge?)
2.

This is a good idea that I could place something underneath the refuge to raise it. And when the refuge gets fuller it would overflow into the main tank (WOW! why didnt i think of this ;D ) Thanks mate ... But i need to create this overflow :-[ .. Time to google ;D

 

I do have live rock actually...I shall remove the peat from the filter then...Can i maintain a Carbon only canister filter?

 

Look at something like an aqua lifter pump to draw water into the refugium, you can drill a hole in the fuge wall and plumb a gravity fed return.

yes, you can run carbon only canister, be sure to rinse it well weekly.

 

I am currently running the refuge standalone (so that it gets used to the salt )

I wanted to finalize on how to keep the same before i start to do some drilling sessions

When i look at it there are 2ways ??? (Once again please dont mind the rough pics)

1.

As you can see i have a partition on my cabinet and i cant use a sump underneath it nor can i have a bigger size refuge tank underneath (I am actually worried in case of pump power failure as to how will the water stop flowing into the refuge).So can someone guide me to a failsafe setup in this case? Also how can we decide the size of the hole and the location of the hole on the DT?


2.

Just like Telgar mentioned I could raise the Refuge tank on some elevation and i actually do have some space on the cabinet that i have currently got.
The only concern here would be that the Refuge tank wuld be with the DT...maybe aesthetic issues..Can someone help me on the power of the pump/powerhead that would be required and the hole size that would be required to be drilled on the Refuge tank in this case?

 

any help or suggestions pls