FishNoob323
New Member
Has anyone built a refugium as an insert?
I am looking to add a refugium to my tank. I have a RedSea Reefer 525XL and it already has a large Sump with a massive main chamber. I want to separate it in the middle so I can place the Protein Skimmer near the socks closer to the intake and put the refugium in the middle closer to the return pump. What I REALLY do not want to do is have to remove the sump, drain it, and wait a week for new baffles to be ready. I had the idea of building an insert that I can place into the sump to add these baffles but... I don't see anywhere online where someone has done it and I have to assume there is a reason why. Looking for help poking holes in this idea, I'd rather find reasons why it won't work before I invest the time and money into building it.
What I'm picturing is essentially just a base, 2 walls, and some baffles (basically a small sump that has a baffle on opposite ends). Might not be exact but I figure I can get it pretty close to a snug fit so there won't be much water (if any) moving in-between the walls or underneath it, and worst case I can put some filter cloth on the back wall out of sight to fill if any gap. Water pressure moving forward would push the lip after the last baffle into the sumps baffle so shouldn't move it.
Already figured I might run into an issue with the silicone on the floor of the sump but if so I can put a rubber matt of some kind under it to lift it just above the silicone and then measure the water height before cutting the baffles to size to keep the same water height. Other than that the only con I can think of is losing a little bit of water volume but the sump is huge so I can easily afford that sacrifice and the plate glass is relatively cheap.
It seems like the easiest way to do this.. no temp sump... no draining and undoing plumbing... I feel like I'm missing something obvious or I'd see these all over online.
Including some quick drafts so you can see what I am picturing, added an extra baffle in the drawing for a bubble trap after the sump before the refugium.
I am looking to add a refugium to my tank. I have a RedSea Reefer 525XL and it already has a large Sump with a massive main chamber. I want to separate it in the middle so I can place the Protein Skimmer near the socks closer to the intake and put the refugium in the middle closer to the return pump. What I REALLY do not want to do is have to remove the sump, drain it, and wait a week for new baffles to be ready. I had the idea of building an insert that I can place into the sump to add these baffles but... I don't see anywhere online where someone has done it and I have to assume there is a reason why. Looking for help poking holes in this idea, I'd rather find reasons why it won't work before I invest the time and money into building it.
What I'm picturing is essentially just a base, 2 walls, and some baffles (basically a small sump that has a baffle on opposite ends). Might not be exact but I figure I can get it pretty close to a snug fit so there won't be much water (if any) moving in-between the walls or underneath it, and worst case I can put some filter cloth on the back wall out of sight to fill if any gap. Water pressure moving forward would push the lip after the last baffle into the sumps baffle so shouldn't move it.
Already figured I might run into an issue with the silicone on the floor of the sump but if so I can put a rubber matt of some kind under it to lift it just above the silicone and then measure the water height before cutting the baffles to size to keep the same water height. Other than that the only con I can think of is losing a little bit of water volume but the sump is huge so I can easily afford that sacrifice and the plate glass is relatively cheap.
It seems like the easiest way to do this.. no temp sump... no draining and undoing plumbing... I feel like I'm missing something obvious or I'd see these all over online.
Including some quick drafts so you can see what I am picturing, added an extra baffle in the drawing for a bubble trap after the sump before the refugium.
