Sump questions!

[Stephanie]

So, i've decided to build my own sump instead of using a canister on my 30g bw GSP tank. I almost have everything I need, just a few questions before I start:
All the plans I have seen include a refugium, but I don't really understand what I am suppose to do. Obviously I won't have much plant life with a BW tank, and because I'm going from FW -> BW, there won't be much life during the transformation, so should I just skip the refugium part and use something else? I'm drawing up my plans right now, so if anyone has any suggestions (or pictures) please share them with me
Also, do I need a protein skimmer? I've read theyre mainly for SW tanks, but every sump plan has also included one.

[geronimo69]

My sump - for my 150 gallon Fahaka tank is a 35 gallon long. I went to Walmart and bought some of those plastic sliding storage drawers (measured to make sure it would fit). I then drilled a bunch of holes in the top piece of plastic. The top drawer is full of plastic dish scrubbies and the second (underwater) drawer is full of bioballs. It is a cheap but effective sump. Hope this made sense to you.

[Terrance]

Sump is a good way to go. Do you know how you will get the water to the sump - drilled or overflow unit?

Refugium is used in SW tanks for growing macroalgae (also serves a few other purposes). The faster they grow, the better you are able to maintain good water quality in between water changes. Saltwater people usually like to avoid expensive water changes.

Your tank is brackish now, but its a good idea to build a chamber for a skimmer and marcoalgae after the saltwater conversion. They will be good for your water quality later on. You might not have enough room in the 30g tank for live rocks (if you decide to go that route), so you may also want to leave some space in the sump for live rocks.

Most of the time, people build their sumps around the skimmer. You might want to investigate the skimmer you want. Find its dimension and try to fit in the sump. The traditional sump has three chamber. First is the inflow, then refugium, last is the return pump chamber. Those traditional sumps will have the skimmer in the first chamber. Reason being you want your skimmer to collect as much dissolved waste as possible. Then when the water gets to the second chamber, the macroalgae will soak up whatever is left over. This was the theory I read on another forum, but it made sense IMO.