Sump conundrum!

[Vhuang168]

So I'm getting ready to finalize my sump but I've come to a head. I've always thought the skimmer should be before the refugium but the design of the Synergy CL sumps will not allow that. Well, it will but it would mean I have to raise the skimmer pretty high if I put it in the 1st chamber after the drain.

The reason I want it before the refugium is so that any of the pods and other life can make it to the DT.

How much of the pods will get taken out of the water column by the skimmer if I have it after the refugium?

Thanks
Vincent

 

[Enderturtle]

If you have sand and rock crevices.... You will have pods in your display. Theres way more surface area and hiding spots in my display tank than my ball of chaeto.

Wanna culture tigger pods? Its SO easy.

Look at this unheated/stagnant jar sitting at my kitchen window (excuse the mess lol)

See all those dots? Theres gotta be at least 200 tigger pods in there. Yes they do live in the chaeto. Probably feeding off bits of detritus, microalgae, and dying chaeto.

I wouldnt put too much emphasis on skimmer before or after refugium.

Your skimmer is not cleaning the water so much that its starving your chaeto. And I dont think your skimmer is good enough to skim out all the pods either sure maybe it skims some pods but dont let it give you heartburn.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Nice concern
If you really want to use your refugium to "feed" your reef, then you want it to be above the display, gravity fed.
But I think you'll be fine as is...the pods will get through.

 

[zeroinverse]

I think many of today's skimmers actually overskim and remove too much dissolved organics for good coral growth. For me, I now only have my skimmer on 6 hours a day.

But it depends on your tank maintenance preference. High growth, good color, low algae.... Depends on your goals.

Mine is currently high growth, so I have 10-20 nitrate, alk around 10, and occasionally dose potassium nitrate in my topoff water.

 

[HiFidelity]

I'll second what Erin said

What's worked best for me in regards to pod population is incorporating a remote refugium in the cycle. In my case I have a tiny 5g (or less) fuge plumbed into the sump, it's fed by a dedicated pump so flow rate is dialed in independent of sump rate and overflows back to sump. This has allowed me to maintain a population of things that look like tiny specs all the way up to massive 1/4" amphipods. Coincidentally I have some chaeto in my sump as well and there are far less pods in there. Not sure as to exact science of why but this seems to work well. Best part is, you can do whatever you want in the sump and no longer matters whether pods grow in DT or not.