Since I am having a hard time getting the new sump that I want, I went to plan B, it will be alot cheaper. Went to Lowes today and got a heavy duty plastic tub to make a refugium out of that. I got the tub and all of the hard ware except the part I needed most, a thru hull fitting for the tub to drain water out of the tub back into the sump tank, will try and find that tommrow. I have one thing I am not to sure about though. What I was planning on doing was to take the pump that pumps water thru a plastic hose from the sump, back up into the tank, split the line and add another line to feed the refugium, one pump two hoses. I looked at the pump but it hasn't any numbers on it showing GPH so I am going to have to check with Gerwin to see what kind of pump I have and see if he thinks it will do both jobs. I could just buy another pump for the refugium feed line. But everything that I have read says it needs to be a small pump as I have heard you don't want alot of water movement in the refugium, I guess I could put a ball valve in the line so I could restrict water flow. Figured the money I save with this refugium over the new sump will be about the same as the new skimmer will cost me, told my wife its like getting a free skimmer lol, she wasn't buying that. I am still going to have to add to my baffle height in the sump that I have, its only 6 inches deep in the return section, I need 8 to 10 for the new skimmer, do ya'll think I could silicone another piese of glass or acrylic to the baffles I now have and raise the height to the 10 inch mark, I could just replace the baffles but that would require me to be without a sump for a few days, don't want to do that, but adding to the baffle height would also mean I would be with out a sump till the sealent dried? I got the BRS GFO / Carbon reactor hooked up yesterday and its working fine. The calcium reactor that I want is a GEO 618. Premium Aquatics wants $770 for the whole set up, I have found a used one for $400, whole set up. I will buy that one if it looks pretty good, but I don't have much faith in it being a decent one. I looked at the BRS web site for Calcium Reactors, they only have two listed and are out of the single chambered ones. Someone told me I could save alot of $$$ on this by buying a two part dosing pump and a kalk stirrer instead of the Calicum Reactor, what do ya'll think? I don't know anything about dosing pumps. The reason I wanted a Calicum Reactor was so that I could hook up a PH probe to the C. Reactor and also to a controller, like a Neptune Aqua Controller. I want to end up with alot of SPS corals in the tank and I don't want to go cheap with the calcium equipment and lose alot of corals because of not getting a reactor, or because of a PH problem, unless the dosing pumps will do the job with no worries. Anyone have any thoughts or advice on my plans, feel free to post them, need all the help I can get.

This is about the time I would scream........ GERRRRWINNN!!!

I got the over flow plug installed in the refugium tub today after work. The fitting came with a rubber gasket but I also used a bit of silicone on both sides. The only thing that I am worried about is that although the tub is pretty heavy duty, I am worried that adding water to the tub may cause it to bulge and cause water to leak around the over flow tube, we will see, if it happens I guess I can but a 20g tank and have a hole drilled in it and use that. Gerwin, I am going to come in this week and pick up a pump to move the water from the sump to the refugium, if you have one. I bought a ball valve to put in the line to the refugium to ajust the water flow.

Well it leaks, figured it would. Gerwin I have a 10 gallon glass tank, the ones you sell in the store. Think you can get a hole drilled in the side for me? If you can, I will also need a thru hull fitting for it. The 10g tank ought to be big enough for the refugium?

yes we can

whew thats alot of writing and I am not sure what part is questions and just thoughts, I have you drawings at 2 different acrylic builders as we speak btw

Just an update, Gerwin is having my 10g QT Tank drilled and I stopped by Lowes and got everything to get it up and running when the tank comes back.

Its up and running. I think my Nitrates are starting to fall already

Yeah!!! It's nice when things start working out.

Gerwin, I got to thinking, do I need some sort of clean up crew in the refugium? I was thinking if I didn't add a clean up crew, I might get an algae problem. I put about three or four pieces of live rock in the refugium also.

maybe a snail or 2, and a few reef hermits but I would not load up crazy in there, keep them full so they do not turn on your goods you wanna keep

I didn't feel like there was enough water movement in the tank, so I took the HOB filter that came with the 10g tank and am using that for the extra water movement, without the filter. Seems to be working fine.

check your pm pete

be very CAUTIOUS about using these tubs for aquaria purposes. these tubs can not endure the time and hostile environment of a salt water aquarium. seen way to many of these tubs leak over the years, as the result of fatigue and even creatures eating through the plastic.

This was just a quick fix to get a tad more water movement in the refugium. I will get with Obeewan, and see if he can get me something else for water movement. I feel pretty confident that the refugium will now keep the Chaeto alive and hopefully grow, we will see. If I had to do it all over again, I think the drain hole back into the sump needs to be bigger and then I don't think I would need anything to move the water around in the Refugium Tank.