got board so i built a rubermaid refuge today
 

well like it said I needed something to do.. sooo

all togeather it cost me about 65.00 and that is including a maxidrive 600 to put the water through it.

http://members.shaw.ca/stircrazy/refuge/rubbermaid4.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/stircrazy/refuge/rubbermaid5.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/stircrazy/refuge/rubbermaid6.jpg

Steve

Ok so which is the feed and which is the overflow?? I don't want to hazard a guess!

Where ya going to put it? Over your stand or somewhere else?

The first pic is the overflow back to the tank.. I did the tube in tube thing so I can take water from low (close to the sand) and have it go back to the tank.. this way I think there will be more pods traveling to the main tank..

the second pic is going to be the water to the refuge.. I will have it come in on both sides (the ends of the tubes) so I will get a gental current over the whole container..

and yes it is going to sit on top of my stand.. if I think it is to ugly I will just put in some false walls and take the stand up to the roof.

Steve

Not sure how you're going to do that with your tank in the house and you locked out of the house!!!!! :D :P :D

Ahhh but that is the beauty I won't get locked out till I finnish making the stand go to the roof :wink:

Steve

well it is almost ready to turn on.. just got to finnish filling it and let it clear for a few hours.


http://www.islandaquatics.ca/picture...ugefilling.jpg

Steve

Purdy... But that Gawd-awful stand and canopy sure takes away from its beauty... what is that ... WOOD? Egads, you can see the wood GRAIN! Just disgusting!!!!!

;)

Just kidding, of course. I think I'd be looking at them false walls ..... but that's just me.

If I owned that, I could just visualize the water pouring down.... :shock:

well all done with 25 lbs of rock in it now.


http://www.islandaquatics.ca/picture...refugedone.jpg

Oh I forgot to mention that while I was doing the "fuge" I also decided to increase my top off water container to 18 gal from 4 gal.

http://www.islandaquatics.ca/pictures/refuge/topoff.jpg

Steve

ya pretty sick eh... I think I will build some sort of screening to hide it.. but not right now.. I have 3 weeks off when my baby is born after christmas.. sounds like a good time then.

Steve

Looks like a great great set up, can you tell me what kind of flow you are sending through it? I'm giving alot of thought to a refugium so any input would be appreciated.

I am using a maxijet 600 which is lifting the water about 3' so it is just a gental flow. I would say 100gph at max split between 2, 1/2" inlets

Steve

I was considering either one of my 20s or a 33 or even my 45 for a refugium, I thought refugium volume two times/hour would be sufficient

i would use 2X as a min and 5X as a max, if you don't use a heater in your refuge you want enuf water flow to maintain the temp.

Steve

I have often wondered how those rubbermaid containers hold up after a year or so. I suspect the saltwater will make the plastic brittle and prone to cracking.

the salt water *shoulden't* do anything to it.. it is the UV from lights that will do that.. My refuge is not going to be for growing weeds but rather for raising pods so from what I am understanding I *shoulden't* need a light but I might put a small power compact on it just to permote a bit of algae growth.

Steve

Bryan thats a great question but I suspect the thing that would age them most is ultra violet rays. Salt water on food grade plastic isn't much of a concern IMHO. Besides if it does get brittle it isn't like you need to budget for a new one.

Steve, what I was thinking and the operative word there is "thinking" anyway, what I was thinking is, buy a 108 or even a 135 but I can get a 5ft 108 for a song. I have a 72 reef right now and I can leave that intact until I get the 108 running. I have a 77 that is collecting dust so that would be a sump, and I have a shallow 45, 36 x 18 x 18, that I could use as a refugium. I figure with a portion of that as a DSB, and a large portion for live rock I may even put some Miracle Mud in the sump I should have a good healthy stable system. I figure run the refugium out of the sump and let it gravity feed back to the tank.

I only replaced mine because the heater burnt into the rubber...
:roll:

Were do you guys get all youre plumbing parts, bulkheads, fittings, tubbing...???

www.jlaquatics.com
www.saltwaterconnection.com
www.mops.ca
Or Your local aquarium store :D

I was thinking of using one as a DSB refugium, so it's not the cost of replacing, but the disruption in the sandbed if I had to replace it.

Andrew sherrit.. you pay about 1/4 to 1/2 the price

Steve

???? I have an Andrew Sheret right around the corner from me.... actually smack in the between my house and my favorite LFS.... doh.. I never thought about them, I usually go to Revy.

Bryan that makes sense. I think you would be fine with one though, again make sure it is food grade and you should be fine.