[t-rock]

hello all,well heres my idea:
since i am a little unsure of the ideal flow rate of refugiums,and i would like to incorporate one into my reef system im setting up,i was thinking i could dedicate my sump into a refugium.this will be located below my 90g tall tank with a submersible pump to return the water back to my tank.i was thinking about using a smaller sized mag with a flow rate of about 300-400@ 4 ft head for this pump.my ets skimmer and mag 7 skimmer pump,heater,additional baffles,live sand and nessesary refugium (stuff),small return pump and refuge light will be incorperated into the sump.
Next for re-circulation will be the closed loop system and totally seperate from the sump.i was thinking of buying a external pump somewhere in the 1000 gph @ 4 ft head range( brand unknown).noise and heat are a big concern with me as with everyone else right?my biggest reason for a closed loop is because i think that running 8-10 times the total volume of your display tank through your sump/refugium cant be good right?Dont you want maximum contact time with your return water and your refugium?
all constructive criticism is totally welcome.
a little bit more about my tank:
90gal tall truvue with 2 internal overflows and internal returns
planning on buying figi rock for the base rock and marshall rock on top.
ETTS reef devil skimmer
additional pwr heads on timers in display tank.
If im totally off base here with my ideas please give your 2 cents.This is all going to be coming together in the next couple of weeks and ill keep everyone posted as it comes along. And thanks for taking the time with reading my thread.

[Reefland]

Hi t-rock,

I think you have the right idea but should up the total flow amount of each by a couple of hundred gph. I think you'll be totally fine running 600-700gph through your sump and you would be much better off if you could get 1500-2000gph through your closed loop.

[t-rock]

reefland,thanks for the reply.i guess my biggest question was about the flow through the refugium and if there was such a thing as "too much" within reason of course

[Reefland]

At some point it can become too much. Too much flow can cause a sand bed to stir and be a constant mess, may not be optimal for the "pod" production and may not be good for particular types of macro algae. I think if you stick with 600-700gph you'll be in good shape.

[t-rock]

Thanks again reefland...hey, a litle off of the subject but i have a stand that my father built for me,birdseye maple-very nice and OVERBUILT,anyway,im having trouble fiting a big enough sump in the stand for my 90g and i had an idea to simply set 2 10 gallon fishtanks inside with 2 holes drilled in each equal to the 2 drains that come down from the tank and have these 2 10 gallon tanks conected with bulkhead fitings and 2 1 in pvc pipes conecting the two and puting in baffles in the tanks and so forth.Do you think if this was done right it would be ok?I know its a bit hoakie but i was just wondering what you thought.thanks again for all of your help.
troy r.