What is a "sump" "Refugium" and many other word i have never herd mean?

so im still somewhat new and i was reading and came accross the words "sump" "fudge" and "Refugium" i was also wondering about many other words and things, im sure other people are thinking the same thing so for all you non n00bs please inform myself and im sure others!
thanks in advance
-Nick

 

also what are they used for

 

sump==area away from main tank (under or aside) to house your equiptment in and add water volume to your system.

refugium and refuge == same thing. a place for fragile livestock to live protected from the main tank area and inhabitents. also a place to place mud, rock, and sand for extra biofilter to grow.

lots of reading on sump/refugiums here and on internet. good luck on it!

Scoffer

 

example

HI,
This example of both combined,
The left green side is for plants and algae requires a light source. and improves water quality, = eforgium, the right side may have,plastic balls lots or deep sand , or filter media and water =sump.

 

whats the point of having all the growth away from the tank if you cant enjoy it?

another question is how do you get the water back into your "main" tank

 

Just to add to what scoffer mentioned, a sump can be used as both with a baffle system in place so that if your sump is big enough, you can house your equipment in one area of the sump and the baffle/divider will enable you to have a refugium as well.
The biggest reason we have sumps/refugiums IMO, is for increased surface area and water volume. These will enable us more room for error as everything disappates/disburses in a larger volume lessening the stress and changes in water parameters for your livestock!

 

I hear ya, that is why many have a hang on refugium as well so that we can enjoy what ever we have in our refugium. Sometimes it is money related, or fellow reefers don't want to take away from the ambiance of their main tank or available space alotted, that a sump is separated as oppossed to having one of each!
Hope this helps alittle!
The water gets into your main tank via an inline or external pump such as a Mag or Quiet One or Iwaki, Gen-X, and Little Giant for inline pumps.

 

when you guys say equipment, what exactly are you talking about,

in my 55 gallon i have my filter that hangs off the back a heater, and a powerhead just so there is water circulation throughout the tank,

if i were to have a sump would i be able to put all these things in it?

 

Depending on the size of your sump(many people use a regular glass/acrylic tank for their sump) but you can get extravagent if you have the money, you would house the heater, skimmer, carbon and phosphate media and you can run a chiller off it as well as calcium reactor! You can get pretty creative! You can get your tank pre-drilled to have mega flow/overflows which cycles your water and adds water flow as well!

 

with a 55 gallon tank how many GPH would i want running through, and would a basic 10 gallon tank be sugnificant?