What to do with a 45 gal aquarium

[greatg]

I have a 110 gal reef aquarium set up. It is all glass and does not have any drilled holes. I've been reading that a sump and refugium are almost a necessity and I was wondering if I could use my other 45 gal glass tank for such a device? If so, how would the sump and refugium work if my main tank is not drilled. If anyone could provide me with some assistance in seeting this up it would be greatly appreciated and welcomed...

[afss]

Sumps and refugiums are deffinetly good to have, but they are far from a necessity. Basically a sump is a place under the tank that you can place things like a heater, kimmer, etc so that they don't clutter up your main tank. You need to have either a drilled tank or an overflow to get the water from your tank to the sump. Another advantage to a sump is that the water level in the sump will raise and lower as you top off and evaporation ocurrs. This leaves the level of the main tank at the same level all the time.

A refugium is a safe haven for pods and critters, macro algaes etc to grow without fish and other creatures hunting them. The refugium can have rock in it, can have a sand bed, can have macro, any or all of the listed things. Preferably the refugium woill be located above the main tank so that the critters that grow in it will make it as a form of live food back to the tank for your fish etc. If you decide to have macro in your refugium then you have to provide it with some sort of light. Most people use either reverse lighting (lights on the refug come on when the tanks lights go out and off when they come on) or they use a 24/7 setup with the lights on all the time. Having said this you can still incorporate a refugium into your sump. There have been some that say that the critters mostly make it through a return pump OK.

Hope that helps

Scott

[greatg]

Thanks Affs,


So, it is possible to have a successful reef tank without having a sump/refugium? As in my case I have a Ehiem canister filter (without media), 200 lbs LR and 4-5 inches of aragonite substrate.

[kentracey]

Sure it is very possible. A sump just adds more water volume which helps stability and a refugium will also do the same with the added benefit of being a natural nutrient exporter and like Scott said it's a safe haven for critters that are a natural food supply for your fish etc. I personally think they are very cool as well. Tons of life to watch. Very cool, wish I had one. That said,lots of people have neither a sump or a refugium, but they are both beneficial. In my opinion you will need a better skimmer than someone who was a refugium. I personally don't have a refugium, but my tank is upstairs in my living room and hanging a fuge from the ceiling just woudn't fly (with my wife anyway). I do however have a very simple sump (Rubbermaid) that has a lot of live rock, my skimmer, heater, return pump and also a bag of carbon , which is another reason for a sump. That bag of carbon wouldn't look great in display either. A sump also is a great place do water changes without disturbing the main tank. When I put a bigger tank downstairs I'll include a sump and a fuge in the plans. I'd put a really DSB in there as a "satellite sandbed" just in case I have the tank up for a long period of time and want to do a wholesale change without completely reeking havoc in the display. So... required........ no, beneficial..... yes.......... very cool... yes. Scott has an awesome fuge, tons of macro, pods, and Floyd.:eek1:

[afss]

As Ken said.. No need of reither a sump or a fuge to have a sucesful tank. They make life easier, and IMO improve things, but that doesn't mean you need them.

Scott