reef rig or just sump
 

Just got a 90 gal up graded from a 55 gal and now we have a mega flow sump and were wondering your pros and cons of a reef rig or plain sump wich is better thanks for your input

What the heck is a reef rig?

I'm with Ruth, what is it?

Doug

i too am wondering

i was told that is what you call a sump that has live rock and algea and things like that. i know that there is a longer name but i am not sure what it is.

I think you are refering to a refugium or Fuge

I would vote for a fuge to help export Nitrates. But it's not 100% required

J

thinking a sump that includes a refugium.

I also prefer having a sump/refugium. In-sump skimmers tend to be more efficient than HOBs & you can solve the micro-bubbles problem more easily. I hide my heater & extra live rock in there, as well as lots of macro algae. A couple of simple clip on CFL screw in bulbs (27w Phillips Daylight bulb) is plenty of light for that setup. Or if you go with a Metal halide or PC, then you can change it into a frag tank.

Anthony

When filling the tank and the sump for the first time what should the levels of the water be ? Should the tank be full and the sump at the max level or what?
please help

when i filled mine for the first time i filled the tank all the way up first.... including the overflow.... then filled the sump to where i figured the water levels would be..... then i turned on the return pump..... i had to keep adding water till the water levels evened out to where i wanted them as the pump filled the return pipeing and the remainder of the tank to get that perfect turn over........

Well you learn something new every day. Reef Rig it is:mrgreen: I prefer to have a refugium as well.
When I was trying to determine how full to have my sump/fuge I like to fill it so that the water is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the volume of the sump with everything running. Then I turn everything off - simulating a power failure to make sure that there is enough room for the back siphon of water without overflowing.