Hello all-
Here's some more
Refugium questions. Any input appreciated!
1) I've read from several forums about flow rate through a
refugium. The consensus is that flow should be slower, but some argue that people tend to put too little flow through their
refugium. What is your turnover rate for your
refugium volume? 1x, 5x, et cetera?
2) To control the flow rate through the
refugium, I have read of several options:
a) Some people may design their
sump/refugiums with a bypass so all the flow from the
skimmer chamber does not go through the
refugium.
b) Other people have their overflow split and use a ball or gate valve to control the balance of flow. This means that raw
DT water is flowing through the
refugium, which (I assume) could result in a excess build-up of
detritus.
c) Other people may have a dedicated line from the
sump (or
DT) up to the
refugium, and then use gravity to get the water back to the
sump. This is how a
HOB refugium works.
d) Some other option I have not read about or am not recalling.
Which do you have and why?
I am leaning toward option c), where I will have a maxijet pumping skimmed water up to the 4.5g
refugium chamber, and then just have the water overflow back into the
sump. Flow rate can be controlled by simply replacing the pump with a suitable one.
Thanks!
