[jleet]

I am in the process of making a HOB fuge and was wondering if anyone could tell me a good flow rate to have running through it. I am making it out of acrylic and i was thinking that the Rio 50- rated for 70gph would be plenty or the Rio 90-rated for 85gph. Both are fairly cheap, so i need your opinions!!
Thanks, Jason

[emccullough1]

A big part of figuring flow is the size of the refugium and whether or not it is going to be a DSB. While 600 GPH would be over kill on a 2 gal 600 GPH would not be enough for a 50 gal

[jleet]

well its only about four gallons so what now? I'm thinking that a deep sand bed may not do much in such a small space.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

High flow rates in a fuge arnt a good thing since part of the reason to have one is growing pods and you dont want to wash them away.I would guess that 20 gph would be a lot.

[emccullough1]

I agree with Dale on that 20 GPH. Now how are you going to get it. The smallest pump I could find was adjustable from 40 GPH to 80 GPH at 1 foot. I would try using a T and valve and let some go back to the tank. That is just my thought and you may find a smaller pump. By the way if you do find a smaller pump PM me and let me know where.

[jleet]

What about just using 3/4" or 1/2" pvc and creating a siphon with it? Would that work and how many gph would it flow? I was thinking about it earlier. What do you guys think?

[emccullough1]

You would get 0 GPH a siphon can only go 1 way from higher to lower. You would still need a pump. Now you may be able to make a air lift like on the old under gravel filters. but I could not even began to tell you how. I think a small pump is going to be your best bet.

[e_baer]

I have got to agree with Ed. A siphon will only work by moving a water from a higher elevation to a lower. In a siphon gravity is doing the work, so unless you find a way to counter act gravity, a siphon will not work. A pump is definately your best bet. You may want to look into a very small pump that can be adjusted.

Mini-Jet 404 Powerhead (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Powerheads > Compact Pumps )

[NATIVEVAMAN]

At the risk of sounding silly,why dont you just build a sump/fuge and put the whole thing under your tank?I have a simple drawing of sump fuge you can build for the price of a used 20 gallon tank and a small sheet of plastic and a store bought syphon overflow.

I bet for less than 90$'s you can do this.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

[emccullough1]

Hay your the man Elliott, I have been looking for a small pump like that. I will have 2 of them coming my way before the day is out.

[jleet]

Well the point of building a HOB fuge was the fact that i dont have enough space under my cabinet.

[e_baer]

why not just buy one?

Hang-On Refugium with Protein Skimmer 24" Large - 705014

[jleet]

I already have a skimmer, and all i need is a pump, which will cost me a lot less than buying the whole setup.

[emccullough1]

Jason Go for it. Some people have more money then ability. You will have something to be proud of when you are done. That small pump e_baer put the link to will be perfect you will have the ability to adjust the flow and get it right where you want it.

[jleet]

Thanks Mccullough,
I got my fuge built with the baffles i want in place. Its not too big and fits perfect for the amount of space i have. I still need to order my pump, which i am till undecided about, and do the plumbing. I was wondering if anyone knows where i can get the black or grayish plumbing. I like the looks of it a lot better than white pvc. Also, i was wondering if using live sand in my fuge would be of any benefit. The space i have in my fuge to put sand is about 13" long x 4" wide, and i could go up to about 5 or so inches deep with the sand. Would this be on any benefit for my or would filling it with various algae and stuff be just as good? Any comments are great!
Thanks, Jason

[emccullough1]

As for gray pvc you could use electrical conduit but it is more costly. They make a spray paint foe plastic that is safe. I would probably go that way but that is just me. I'm a big deep sand bed fan so something between 3" to 5" would work. But there again that is just me. Whether you would get much help with nitrates from it would be questionable. But LR and LS and some micro algae sure is not going to hurt. I had more room then you and made my refugium 10 gal which is the same as my tank, total 20 gal counting sump And it has maid all the difference in the world. I could not keep my nitrates below 20 and now they run around 5 at the highest.

[jleet]

The spray paint that your talking about, what brand is it? Is it the krylon fussion or whatever its called? I've heard of people using that and having good results.

[emccullough1]

Yes that is it I could not remember the name when I was typing earlier. If It was me I would not paint the part that goes in the water. Just mask off that part. I have herd it is reef safe but I would not trust it.

[emccullough1]

I failed to say you could put a blue sponge over the part that goes in the tank to hide it. And stop unwanted thing from getting in. I have one cut to fit my intake and it looks pretty good. Better then a piece of pipe at least in my opinion.

[krsult]

I bought on of the ones you show Elliott. I was looking at do I need a pump to get the water back out or does it just drain back into the tank?

[inthedeep2]

Originally Posted by NATIVEVAMAN

on this design would it be alright to but the fuge in the middle and have to skimmer portion flow into the fuge into the return or no??
still learning, need to figure out something for myself..