Refugium Pluming/Pump Questions

[crb]

Be gentle, this is my first post.

I picked up a complete 125g reef setup from someone who was leaving the country and I am addicted.

I have been building it up over the last 4-5 weeks (slowly working on aquascaping at the moment) and have decided to add a refugium above the tank to help stabilize the pH and serve as a nutrient export. I found a hex on craigslist. The hex is drilled, but the 125g isn't. I have the hex above the main tank (see attached cell phone image).

Now I need to pump water up to the hex (2 foot head). Pump I was planning to use is too fast. I need something that pumps it SLOWLY (pump flow should not exceed the gravitational flow through the 7/8" diameter vinyl tubing running from the hex to the 125g). Recommendations?

I am also wondering how to prevent the hex from overflowing if the outflow gets clogged etc. Some kind of auto-shutoff? A pump with the intake close to the surface in the 125g (assuming it can run dry)?

CRB

P.S. Anyone close to Somerville/Cambridge/Boston have an extra clump of chaetomorpha?

 

[MVIT]

Do you have a sump on the big tank? You have a dedicated pump to supply the fuge yes? If you have a sump under the tank and room for your fuge pump maybe you could put it in the sump,,, this would be more head(6-7feet??) and should slow down the flow so the fuge drain could keep up.You could also throttle back the pump a bit with a ball valve. I don't think any pump can handle running dry.
If you don't have a sump and must put the fuge pump in the big tank you could tee off the output and send some water back to the big tank through a ball valve which would serve to adjust your flow to the fuge.
For flood prevention you could use float switch in the fuge to kill the pump in case the level gets to high. Something like this:

http://www.autotopoff.com/products/ST1/index.htm

If I can clarify this any let me know.

Good luck,
Mark
P.S. Nice tank!

 

[crb]

Thanks Mark. That switch is perfect, just what I was looking for. I just put in an order for one.

No sump yet. Want to drill the tank for that. I was just going to use a magnum canister filter inline that came with the tank to pump the water for now, but it moves the water too fast (it's a 350). Throttling it back stresses it out (it starts to hum in pain) and stresses me out (don't like electrical hums in my living room).

I need a quiet slow inline pump asap. Anyone? I posted in the WTB forum.

 

[MVIT]

"I was just going to use a magnum canister filter inline that came with the tank to pump the water for now, but it moves the water too fast (it's a 350)."

You are going to try to pump from the main tank up to your fuge with the magnum? And the flow is too much? Hmmmmmm...... could still tee it off and send a little back to the tank through a valve, that shouldn't make it protest too much.
You have to watch out for the magnum350 with sand. Somehow it always finds its way down to the impeller area and grinds up the magnet. Then it will really drive you nuts! (I know because I have one)

Sea you later,
Mark