Bio Pellets or Refugium

[intarsiabox]

I am in the process of setting up a new sump. I was going to go Overflow/Skimmer Section=>Return Section<=Refugium. However I could also increase the size of my skimmer section to have room for a Bio Pellets reactor and also have a larger return section while eliminating the refugium. This would also make plumbing easier as I only have one corner overflow and would have to tee-off to provide flow to the refugium. Is this a good idea or would I be better off with the refugium. My other design was to go Overflow/Skimmer Section=>Refugium=>Return Section, but this results in full flow through the refugium and I don't know if this would be too much flow. I have a single 1 1/2" overflow and am planning on using a Mag9.5 as my return mostly because that's what I already have. Any thoughts?

[Myka]

Grr, I just lost what I typed to you. So here's the short of it:

Personally, Bio pellets are way too new for me to be designing a sump around their use. I haven't seen enough evidence yet - it seems to be hit or miss so far.

I would suggest instead of a refugium that you consider using that chamber to solely contain chaeto. Chaeto thrives on high flow. Be sure to keep things like live rock, other macroalgae, critters, etc out of the chaeto chamber so the chaeto ball can continuously tumble without hindrance. Also be sure to keep it well trimmed for the same reason. Good light, good tumbling, good flow = great nutrient reduction. Proven, reliable, and cheap! In fact, you can make a few bucks selling chaeto balls when you trim.

[intarsiabox]

That's a good idea as well, Myka! I hadn't put any serious thought into this design as I was only thinking full refugium with the sand, rocks and algae but I'm really most interested in nutrient export. Do you think a 10" wide section in a 40g sump would do the trick?

[Duffer2]

+1 on the chaeto chamber. Good, proven and reliable.

Saying that, I'm running bio pellets and fairly happy. Since starting the bio pellets, my cantelope sized chaeto ball has slowly dissappeared into nothingness. Which I assume to mean that the pellets are out competing chaeto for the nutrients. Corals pretty much look the same as before. With the pellets I have had a few strange algea outbreaks (week 1 hair, week 4 Bryopsis), but everything seems to have worked it's way out. Only big differnence I notice is that my filter socks plug up much much quicker when running pellets. I'm not a big refuge fan so I say chaeto or pellets.

If you do go chaeto, as mentioned above, get a good light and trim often.

[intarsiabox]

I like the idea of a chaeto chamber and it would make plumbing my over flow so much simpler. Just a straight pipe with a union for easy pipe disconnection.

[BlueTang<3]

Originally Posted by Duffer2

+1 on the chaeto chamber. Good, proven and reliable.

Saying that, I'm running bio pellets and fairly happy. Since starting the bio pellets, my cantelope sized chaeto ball has slowly dissappeared into nothingness. Which I assume to mean that the pellets are out competing chaeto for the nutrients. Corals pretty much look the same as before. With the pellets I have had a few strange algea outbreaks (week 1 hair, week 4 Bryopsis), but everything seems to have worked it's way out. Only big differnence I notice is that my filter socks plug up much much quicker when running pellets. I'm not a big refuge fan so I say chaeto or pellets.

If you do go chaeto, as mentioned above, get a good light and trim often.

The strange algae out breaks would have been as the cheato dies it releases all the crap it took out back into the tank, and well your pellets starved the cheato.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

That's a good idea as well, Myka! I hadn't put any serious thought into this design as I was only thinking full refugium with the sand, rocks and algae but I'm really most interested in nutrient export. Do you think a 10" wide section in a 40g sump would do the trick?

What is the overall system volume?

My personal thoughts are chaeto chamber for nutrient export and refugium for food source (pod reproduction). Nothing wrong with running a chaeto chamber and a refugium.

[intarsiabox]

DT is 90g and sump is 40g.

[Myka]

Ideally you would want a bit more space than that (say maybe 12"), but 10" should do the trick for you. You may have to install a powerhead in the chaeto chamber at the bottom of the chamber probably at the outflow end pointing back towards the inflow to make a rolling water action in that chamber.

[intarsiabox]

As soon as I get a skimmer I'll see what actual space I have but I think 12" won't be a problem. Should I set up triple baffles between the skimmer section and chaeto chamber ie. over/under/over type of thing or would a single divider work with the chaeto trapping most of the bubbles?