Filtration
The main tank’s filtration is provided by live rock and a shallow sand bed. We also have a small remote refugium that is fed by the same Iwaki that feeds the fragment tank, which uses a simple gravity overflow from both the refugium and fragment tank back into the sump. The refugium works very well at converting detritus and dissolved nutrients into live plankton. I am a firm believer that using natural filtration methods, including live rock, sand and a refugium, are not only a significant biological filtration method but tends to create a complete ecosystem that also provides nutrients for the tank.
For mechanical filtration, I am using a do-it-yourself Beckett skimmer powered by an Iwaki 75RLT. The skimmer stands one meter tall and has a six-inch reactor body and produces a hefty, sludgy skimmate. I am also using activated carbon and a do-it-yourself phosphate reactor for chemical filtration.
