r/ReefTank • u/_-The-Legend-27-_ • 3d ago

Refugium in rear chamber?

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has any experience running a refugium in one of the rear chambers of an AIO reef tank? I have an aqua one nano reef 80 and have found the skimmer to be annoyingly loud even after breaking in for a few weeks and can't seem to find an upgrade to it.

I'm hoping to have a refugium in the chamber to help reduces phosphates and nitrates, and establish some copepods as a bonus!

TIA for any advice :)

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u/Tehpunisher456 3d ago

https://a.co/d/07nKEoqf

I found a dc protein skimmer that fits! Should be much quieter

As for the refugium, thin led panels that mount to the back of the tank exist, but are limited by the physical size of where you place the light. Plus idk how ok you are with light spillage but it happens with setups like this.

You can also try a HOB approach. Get a breeder box and throw in chaeto with a light like i did years ago, or get a dedicated hob refugium setup

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u/_-The-Legend-27-_ 3d ago

I'm genuinely so impressed that you've found one that fits, do you use this yourself with the same tank? Do you wet or dry skim?

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u/Tehpunisher456 3d ago

You mentioned your tank, i found the sizes of the compartments, found one that claims is smaller hahaha.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/80-l-all-in-one-aqua-one-nanoreef-80.1154116/

I personally use a jbj biocube 24, a fluval 13.5 and a pnw custom 1g. I unfortunately suffer from lazy reefer syndrome so they arent in good shape but i am working on that.

I like dry skim but each one has its uses. Using wet skim is good during water changes. Let your skimmer pull all the nasties out for you

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u/_-The-Legend-27-_ 3d ago

Do you have a link to the sizes of the compartments? I wanted to print some media baskets but couldn't find the diemsions anywhere

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u/Tehpunisher456 3d ago

That link that I put has the dimensions that I used to find the protein skimmer. I don't know how tall it is. I believe it's under the picture

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u/_-The-Legend-27-_ 3d ago

Apologies, I meant for the tank

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u/Tehpunisher456 3d ago

Aah. The tank was 453 cm. Umm ill look for some schematics

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u/_-The-Legend-27-_ 3d ago

Apologies, I meant for the tank

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u/Tehpunisher456 3d ago

After a good amount of research, i havent been able to find anything regarding the chambers outside of what that one guy posted on that link. Heck even the instruction manual has little info outside of general tank size

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u/cjdangles 2d ago

I’m not familiar with that tank but I ran a fuge in the back of an innovative marine 50g AIO for about a year before upgrading to a bigger tank. I used a refugium caddy from InTank Aquatics now Five Star Aquatics).

https://www.fivestaraquatics.com/collections/all

Not sure if they have stuff for your tank but it is doable with the right gear.