Refugium/Sump Size for 90 Gal?

[dcsurfer88]

Hello to all I am new here at reefland and noticed that alot of you guys are pretty knowlegable when it comes to this Hobby. I'm starting to upgrade from my small 30 gal "reef" set up to a 90gal. I would like to hear some opinions from you guys about sump/refugium size compared to display tank size. I have never messed with a refugium/sump so i am a newbie when it comes to this. any info would be greatly appreciated.

[SouthBayPhoto]

I got lucky and received a 30g sump when I bought my 90, so that's what I'm using. It'll fit everything I need in there, so I would imagine you could use the same. However, I'm sure others will chime in here.

[Samper]

I think 40 and 50 gallon breeders make nice sumps.

[Samper]

Since you will already have a 30 gallon you can use that just fine. If you want a refugium in the sump here is what you need. Five panes of glass cut to fit the interior. You want to put two sets of baffles in it. Your drain from the display will empty into one end of the sump. Your skimmer will sit inside this compartment so allow space for it. Install two baffles here an over and an under. The second baffle I raise about 1.5" off the bottom. This forms the start of the second chamber and will be your refugium. Measure out a space for this compartment to house plenty of macro algae. Next you install the last set of baffles. Over, under, over. This empties into your return pump section. If possible this needs to be the largest section of the sump. It is hard with smaller aquariums so just make it as big as you can. Your return pump either sits inside the next compartment or is plumbed to a bulkhead situated in the side of the sump. I would go to Lowes or something and purchase a roll of gutter guard. It's a black plastic grid that can be bent to fit inside the baffles. This is very important IMO for keeping macro algae and debris out of the return pump and display. At times it helps to have some snails in the fuge. This grid keeps them out of skimmer and return pumps etc. I don't have time right now but if you search around you will get ideas on this. If you need me to I'll dig up a thread or draw something in paint for you to see.