After the May meeting I've been looking into a hang-on Ref for my 29 gal. And after reading this:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/eb/index.htm it sounded like zooplankton were very important to the success of many corals. A refugium sounds like a good source of many planktons for the tank, but the centrifugal pump/blender seemed to limit that benefit, so the gravity return sounded even more temping. So I'm looking to build one, but I was wondering what is the best flow design for a Refugium. Most sumps/Refugiums seem to focus on maximum movement by creating zig-zaging and high-output pumps. But my hypothesis is: if you create a Refugium with low water movement or even near-dead zones of water, the plankton culturing will be able to grow to a larger population without being pushed out of the Ref. and maintaining a larger colony would produce more on a constant basis, maybe even getting to a saturation point before flowing into the main tank. Is there a consquence I'm not thinking of here? Any feedback would be appriciated. - Tim