Is it possible? MEGAFLOW refugium

[chew*]

Was planning on running a HOB refugium on my 65, I noticed that my MEGAFLOW overflow has really good or should i say bad algae growth, I actually planned on covering it up but then i got the idea to just toss some chaeto in there, In the 65g AGA the megaflow has got to be 5-10 gallons, Other than coming up with a way to keep the chaeto from getting into the return pipe is there any other possible concerns someone may have. Will it work? or should i just cover it as planned and get a HOB style, Sump refugium is out of the question as i have well over 50LBs LR, Skimmer, pumps, uv sterilizer, heater, floatvalves etc etc in it already and its crowded.

 

[Jim Tansey]

It's been suggested before, as I recall they were going to add sand also which I think is a real bad idea as you could not remove the pipes for cleaning. If you have the light for macro I can't see any reason why its not great idea.

Jim

 

[smcnally]

If you have the light for macro I can't see any reason why its not great idea.

Jim

I can...But only because I have chaeto that grows in my megaflows that I always have to prune out. What happens is that the cheato slows down the flow. It also allows for other algaes to grow on top of it. The stuff that grows on top of mine, when I let it go, is almost like a moss. It slows the flow down enough that I think it could definitely cause an overflow of the display if you run any decent amount of flow through your sump.

 

[Jim Tansey]

OK good input.

Jim

 

[johnbarr]

I am using an Oceanic Model 2 Sump with modifications, as a refugium. It's working great and have not any problems. I partitioned off a refuguim area and modified the partition before the buble trap. Had room to add a Coralife Super Skimmer 220 needle wheel skimmer (in-sump). So far so good.

 

[smcnally]

John, the "Megaflow" he's speaking of isn't a "Megaflow Sump". It is the actual "Megaflow Overflow" in the display tank.

 

[Cheetos]

Why not just make an area of your sump a refugium?

 

[chew*]

No room in my sump, smcnally is right i'm talking about the "megaflow" almost 6 gal of wasted space overflow box, figured what the heck algae seems to grow good in there so why not macro algae. This is just an easy way out of plumbing in a seperate refugium and or covering the light getting into my overflow box.

Yah cough 790 gph I can see how it could overflow, I just wanted to hear someone say NO you can't cheat.

 

[JohnK]

yea, it's a good idea,

but the details would, IMO, make it more trouble than it would be worth (duroso clogging, getting flow to the cheato while trying to keep it out of the duroso at the same time, space for only a tiny bit of cheato anyway, difficulty in pruning it given the space, exct....).

All that said, I can't help but picture setting it up with a light across the back of the overflow in addition to the tank lighting coming in from the top, keep a little cheato in the bottom with egg crate or something keeping it away from the intake to the duroso, prune the cheato constantly..... Still, in the end though, I doubt that you could grow enough in there to make a worth while difference in nutrient levels....

just another $.02

jk

 

[smcnally]

Still, in the end though, I doubt that you could grow enough in there to make a worth while difference in nutrient levels....

just another $.02

jk

You'd be amazed at how much grows in there just off of the main lighting. Here's what I pulled out of one of my overflows about a month ago

Here's how my overflows look tonight, and I cleaned them out about 2 weeks ago. It definitely gets out of hand. And yes...that is a dead moth in the picture

 

[JohnK]

I see what your saying Steve.

To me the stuff gains mass crazy fast, but the scale of an overflow vs my 20L ref was hard to picture. (I pull out about 1/3 of a 5 gal bucket of cheato every 4-6 wks, about a basketball size).

I don't doubt that it would be pretty much impossible to make it work without constant issues and minimal benifit, I was just trying to see both sides. In the end, I would suggest a dedicated ref one way or another over the overflow idea. The idea sounds tempting, but the realities would be daunting IMO.

jk

 

[smcnally]

I totally agree that it is a very bad idea. I'm just pointing out that it does grow very well in there...in fact, too well.

 

[Jim Tansey]

My overflow is pretty clean, about a year ago I got a lot of aiptasia which my then new CBB took care of except for several in the overflow, I painted the glass dark in that area and made opaque cover blocking almost all light.

Jim

 

[smcnally]

That's what I'll be doing with the new tank

 

[JayM]

My overflow is pretty clean, about a year ago I got a lot of aiptasia which my then new CBB took care of except for several in the overflow, I painted the glass dark in that area and made opaque cover blocking almost all light.

Jim

Where did you get your new CBB? Back in the market for one.

 

[Jim Tansey]

I got mine at a LFS in Falmouth (Falmouth Pet), nice healthy fish.

Jim