Fuge

[MBVette]

I have been thinking about setting up a fuge for my tank, but don't have much space at all. I only have the space under the tank really.

 

My tank is 6' long the opening is 8', underneath I have a 75g sump and a return pump. Any ideas how I can cram a fuge in there?

[treesprite]

The opening under the tank is 2 feet longer than the tank?

[MBVette]

Yes. But with the plumbing for the return pump there really isn't any room under there. Bc you have about 12" of PVC that goes to the pump then the area the pump takes up. It fills up most of that area.

[surf&turf]

For a fuge to work, it really needs to be quite large.

 

JMHO but it should be at least 1/4 the size of your total system.

[lowsingle]

I would run a fuge even if you can't make it very large........it will help absorb phosphate and nitrate and can help buffer the pH if you run it on a reverse night schedule. Making one is easy.....all you need is a bucket (or you can get real elaborate.....it all depends upon how much effort you want to put into it).

 

cheers,

Darren

[Guest thefishman65]

You might consider an algae scrubber. Many of the benfits of a fuge, but slightly different format.

 

 

[MBVette]

What is a algae scrubber?

[roni]

Here's a primer:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1977420

 

Basically, current ideas involve a sheet of double sided algae that has slow flow over it and is periodically harvested. More efficient then a regular fuge in terms of space probably. Never used one personally. You can simply also plumb in a 20 gallon, light it with a shoplight, and put it on a reverse schedule to your main tank.

[beatle]

I disagree that a fuge needs to be 1/4 the size of your system to work properly. I grew copious amounts of chaeto a portion of my 30g sump under my 90 a few years back. I do think that size helps, but it's not a "go big or go home" decision.

 

I was recently fascinated with the idea of an ATS (algae turf scrubber) but didn't want the maintenance. The better ones are relatively easy to maintain, but a fuge requires almost no maintenance.

[MBVette]

So I might try to reconfigure my sump and have all the pumps for my reactors and UV in the final area of the sump opening up the middle to possibly make a fuge (don't know if there is enough room for those pumps in the final section though.

 

The center area is about 12-14" wide and the water is about 8-10" deep. Will this work for a small fuge? Or should I try to make it in the final section? If I do that how would I make sure the cheato does not get sucked into the return pump?

 

Also what type of light should I use?

[beatle]

Leave the center section for your refugium. This isn't a great pic, but it's how I divided my sump in my old setup into skimmer/fuge/return sections:

 

 

I would keep your final section for pumps only. You don't want sand or macro in your return section. You can light the fuge section with just a few CFL bulbs.

Edited December 18, 2011 by beatle

[MBVette]

Ok so inset it up in the center.

 

I can put some sand in a deep Rubbermaid type container to make sure nothing seeps into the return pump. Then get some macro and a light or two. (which bulbs are best?)

 

Anything I am missing?

[beatle]

That would work. People who use rubbermaid tubs as sumps do similar things since you can't easily silicone partitions into them.

 

Daylight bulbs work well.

[treesprite]

I disagree that a fuge needs to be 1/4 the size of your system to work properly. I grew copious amounts of chaeto a portion of my 30g sump under my 90 a few years back. I do think that size helps, but it's not a "go big or go home" decision.

 

My conjecture is that as long as the macros are pruned often enough to make room for new macros to grow, a smaller fuge will work, it's just higher maintenance. However, if you need the fuge for the pods, bigger is better.

[MBVette]

How long should I run the lights on a fuge? About the same time as the rest of my lights?

[treesprite]

Fuge lights come on when tank lights go off, and go off when tank lights go on.