External Refugium from Life Reef Sump
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=80850
Printed Date: October 14 2025 at 4:10pm
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Topic: External Refugium from Life Reef Sump
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Subject: External Refugium from Life Reef Sump
Date Posted: September 06 2016 at 3:11pm
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I am trying to design an external refugium off my LF1-200S
sump. I think I have a pretty good design
figured out in my head so hopefully my drawing makes some sense.
I still need to add my UV Sterilizer in there somewhere and might need to add an emergency overflow to another tank in case of power outage. The refugium is an acrylic 4 chamber tank that has the built in overflow off the back. I figure I’ll drill 4 bulkheads in that tank for the water to flow from the sump and then will overflow out the back and into the return pump. Hopefully this all makes sense, let me know if you see anything you would change. All help is greatly appreciated! ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Replies:
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 06 2016 at 3:13pm
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Next reply, had some issues uploading haha. ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 06 2016 at 3:36pm
 ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: September 06 2016 at 4:19pm
| Looks good. Just be sure there is enough room in the refugium for water to flood back if the return pump goes down or stops and also for the excess water from the overflow. |
Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: September 06 2016 at 10:22pm
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It looks a little over complicated to me. Ideally I think you would have the fuge above the display. The sump cleans up the water some, then the fuge eats up anything remaining and creates some food before returning to the display. If you don't want to or can't do that, another option is to have the pump split to both the display and the fuge, both return back to the sump.
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Posted By: phys
Date Posted: September 07 2016 at 1:52am
| I'll have to agree with the above, you'd probably want the refugium after the sump... Doesn't matter really where you put it above or below, them bugs will find their way in if they're not filtered out. |
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 07 2016 at 7:32am
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Sorry, my drawing must be misleading. The water comes from the tank overflow into each side of the sump, one side gets the skimmer the other side goes through the filters and probably the UV sterilizer, it then drains from the sump into the refugium and then the return pump pushes it back up to the tank. So the pods in the fuge should easily get sucked back up to the tank. I think...haha. ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 07 2016 at 3:40pm
I've seen it all over the years, from the best  to the worst  . My father was a rocket engineer that taught me all about KISS, an engineering acronym for keeping things simple so there are less points of failure and so they are easy to repair in the field. I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but I see parts of that setup that could use a "KISS", even beyond what has been suggested already. Are you interested? Aloha, Mark  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Hogie
Date Posted: September 08 2016 at 8:06am
| Looks good. If it were me, I'd be a little nervous about the level in refug as something will enevitably will go wrong and get plugged. I'd just make sure you comfortable with those levels and have safety factors in place to deal with a crisis. |
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 08 2016 at 12:27pm
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I'm actually an Aircraft Industrial Engineering Technician so I am very familiar with the KISS acronym (keep it simply stupid!) Haha. I actually have thought about the amount of available space incase of power failure and tank siphon. I am going to redesign it just a little to allow some extra space and then utilize the built in overflow that's on that tank I'm using as a fuge as an emergency backup that will probably be plumbed to a drain or something so I don't ever have to worry about coming home to a mess, just potentially a low water level if it comes to that. I believe this is going to work but I am nowhere near an expert or even a novice at this so I'm always open to any suggestions. Criticism is also always welcome as long as you recommend a resolution! ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 08 2016 at 10:03pm
 ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: ElwoodUT
Date Posted: September 08 2016 at 10:04pm
 ------------- I have not failed....I have just found 1000 ways that don't work. 210 Gallon Dual Overflow Life Reef LF1-200S Sump 40 Gal Refugium |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 09 2016 at 9:46am
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Herbie drains have their drawbacks as well. I have another alternative we can discuss tomorrow. I used to feel a little uncomfortable with the KISS acronym containing the word "stupid". Then I read the definition in Wikipedia. The word made more sense and was no longer offensive. Keep It Simple so it has less chance of breaking down and a non-mechanic (Stupid) soldier can fix it with limited tools in the field. Aloha, Mark
------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 09 2016 at 12:51pm
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Since you brought it up, let me offer my opinion about your idea of draining accidental overflow water down the sewer. If the overflowing water escapes down a pipe, will the problem be noticed before it's too late? When an ATO (automatic top-off) device fails quickly it not only floods the floor, it reduces tank water salinity. If left unresolved for a few hours or a day, depending on how low it goes, reduced salinity can lead to the death of all the inverts in the tank. The death of inverts, especially coral, causes serious pollution which kills all the fish that would have otherwise survived low salinity.  Rather than design an escape for high water, it's much better to design the ATO to fail slowly and for the failure to be easily noticeable ASAP, as high water level in a sump that was sized to contain extra water. The solution: 1 & 2. Use a mechanical float valve for the ATO and an automatic shut-off valve on the RO unit. The auto shut-off valve on the RO unit ensures low pressure (~12 psi) so the float valve lasts longer and fails slower. The slow failure of mechanical float valves is noticeable when the water level sits slightly higher over weeks or months. 3. Design the sump/Refugium to contain not only the drained water when the power fails, something that you already mentioned, but to clearly indicate both "running" water level and "power off" water level. 4. Use a water sensor/alarm placed just above the running water level and another sensor/alarm on the floor. These are a few things I would suggest, if they work for you. Aloha, Mark ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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