New Monster Sump/Refugium

[Nicki]

Well my husband may have over did it again.

He just installed our new sump and refugium this past weekend.

The sump in the back room can hold 330 gallons and the refugium under the tank can hold 180 gallons. This increased our overall water volume to around 700 gallons.

The refugium is divided into 3 sections. The first is a true refugium and the second section is more like a separate tank where we keep incompatable fish and seahorses. We are still trying to decide what to put in the third section.

Here are some pictures.

 

[psteeleb]

sweet that things so big it makes that dog look like it has short legs 8)

 

[Nicki]

Scott Comstock made the side of our stand removable so we could easily change out the old sump.

 

[Nicki]

Here is a picture of the new refugium.

 

[melev]

Isn't it awesome to have the Trigger System's guy right there in your home?! Look at how he hooks you up!!

That system looks gorgeous. (The dog is cute too, what kind it is? )

What is the acrylic rod for?

 

[psteeleb]

wow that is really nice - makes me want one, the sump that is (I already have 3 little dogs)

 

[Nicki]

Thanks, it is nice that he can build what ever we need. But he gets more enjoyment out of the filtration then I do.

The dog is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I thought I would put her in there for size reference. It is a little miss leading since her legs are so short.

A lot of equipment is going to sit on top of the sump, like the skimmer and calcium reactor - so the acrylic rods are there for support. Right now we only have the old skimmer sitting in the sump temporarily until we can get the new skimmer plumbed in.

 

[washingtond]

[Size does matter...]

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[melev]

I didn't see that latest set of pictures when I posted. Looks like David had started to make non-beckett skimmers now. And a denitrifier. And I like the little needle valves on a bracket.

That final setup looks beautiful. I'm sure Ryan will be contacting you for a new sump now.

 

[Wes]

Wow, simply amazing! So when is Allen World Aquarium going to be on a tank tour? Very nice setup! Are the seahorses still going to be under the tank or only behind it in the new sump?

 

[Nicki]

He is always trying new skimmers. The one in the sump right now is a recirculating mesh wheel that we had on the old setup. His latest one is a 6 foot tall dual beckett that works much better.

 

[Nicki]

The seahorses will be in the middle section under the tank. I currently don't have any. I lost my last seahorse a few weeks ago after our chiller went out. I raised him myself. He was 3 years old. I won't get any more seahorses until we are done making changes to the tank.

We would love to do a tank tour after we finish with all our projects.

 

[20vturbo]

@WeMa wrote:

cant wait!!!!!!

 

[fejus]

HOLY MONKEY FARTS ... thats H U G E!!

 

[washingtond]

A really [big ] sump/fuge could be part of the answer on this thread. http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=41147

 

[Ivan]

Dude...

 

[kwl1763]

you guys are crazy. Of course if I had the skills and the equip David does i'd do the same crazy stuff. It will be really cool to have the different areas like you do. I'l love to eventually have at least 3 big displays all plumbed together where I could do a FO a reef and then a mangrove/seagrass and seahorses/pipefish.

 

[Nicki]

@kwl1763 wrote:

Oooh that is a good idea Keith. I didn't think of that. I think we would need a bigger house.

 

[Ashlar]

That does sound like a wonderful combination- all the sub-tanks benefit from the overall size and the stability it provides, but the isolation lets you have some really cool stuff.

 

[psteeleb]

@Nicki wrote:

Sorry to hear you lost him. Are you going with a warmer water seahorse or do you plan on somehow chilling the middle section? or maybe just keep you entire system on the cooler side?