# DIY wee sump/refugium



## AEWHistory (Jul 6, 2008)

My main aquarium is a 70 gallon Fluval Osaka. When I first got it a friend of mine convinced me not to get a sump even though I had been set on having one for my freshwater setup (I like having the stability that the additional water volume adds, the ease of adding water lower down, putting equipment into the sump, LOTS of biological filtration, etc.). Having been talked out of this, I ended up with a stand that is not really conducive to a significant sump/refugium, but that got me thinking: what if I used one of my spare 5 gallon aquariums to make a small sump/refug., maybe put a vegetative and/or trickle filter on top, etc. My concern though is that a 5 gallon sump will simply be too small to operate with any stability; in other words, will it constantly be a struggle to maintain a sump this tiny? Will there be other problems?

Thanks!


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Might work, but aren't your plants there for the bio-filtration? 
Also, if you run CO2, you'll lose much of it thru the sump...


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

i think it depends on where you introduce the co2 to the system, i run mine into the intake of a power head, and the out put is aimed right at the intake of my main return pump, and get almost no visible micro bubbles in my 210, but no doubt after the over flow and my lava rock all gas exchange has happened.


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