well technically speaking my entire sump is a refugium ;) So that would be 45 gallons of sand, rock, and algae and is powered by a 1600GPH pump

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You have 1600gph going through a 45 gallon refugium? I don't see a problem there other than electricity. Seems a bit over the top though.

How much light? It just seems to me that your algae isn't growing very fast for some reason.

One thing to consider is having a seperate sump from the refugium. That way the refugium can be almost full while the sump has a lower water level. This can even be done by having a small container in the larger container so the small one is the sump and keeps the level in the larger container high.

Also what type of macros are in there. The various caulerpas "need" the rocks and sand for their hold fasts but not chaetomorphia (brillo pad). I would get the least amount of rocks and sand necessary to still grow the macros.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

im planning to upgrade my sump to a 75 gallon, What is the best way to go about this ? should i set up the new sump using the current sump's ingrediants + more water or should i go about it as a new sump?

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The refugium area should be as large as you can fit or afford. at least 20-30% if you have the space. 30g containers from wall mart are on $10 or so.

The sump area should have enough area (footprint) so that is is easy to adjust but stills holds enough water so you don't have to keep filling it up 3-4 times a day.

You night want to do a dry run in the garage to find out what will work best for you before setting it up in the final location.

IMHO you should reuse all the existing stuff so help the new tank mature rapidily.


Best of luck. Upgrades can be "fun".

as usual my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

some updated pics. I really need to buy some coral lol.

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How can you possibily have such a clean algae free tank with no water changes?








































Oh yea




















you have algae in your sump/refugium




my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

my .02 would be he already knew that....
The tank looks awesome! i see you have a empty spot where the sand isnt covering the bottom, is that because you have a red slime issue there??

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What to do today, water change?

with the exception of the LOADS of macro-algae my sump is cleaner then my display tank.

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no i bumped one of my powerheads the night before :(

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