I ordered a refugium from Aquatraders, it was terrible. I recieved it June 1, started efforts to return it the very next day. It's July 4 and I still dont have my money back. It IS far too small to do anything with and my biggest problem was it leaking. They hang on the back via the plumbing pipes. When the unit fills with water, the wieght puts a lot of stress on those pipes, and they pull apart. I think the threads were too fine and the plastic pipes were too soft. Could be fixed if siliconed, but that would have voided the return policey. My sun room was soaked twice, I'd have never felt safe leaving it unattended after that. I've paid more to ship this thing twice than it cost me originally, still don't know if I will get my money back. I would not recommend Aquatraders.com to anyone at this point. They sell junk and with their "one-sided" return policeys, you are kind of stuck with what they send you.
The model I ordered had a built in skimmer, which was so cheaply designed, I don't feel it could ever work proberly.
The whole idea of a skimmer/refugium combo is flawed anyway. Skimmers need to move water fast to do its job, refugiums need a slow flow to do its job, the two together in one unit is counter-productive.
I've made several purchases from aquatraders.com. My light was over two years old when the ballasts blew, replacing them costs more than the fixture, so its a piece of junk now I'm going to give to Tony at the next meeting, the UV I bought worked for 4 days before the cheap couplings broke, and I had to mod it beyond recongnition to get it to work, and the refugium didn't work at all. In fact, the only floods I've had was because of Aquatraders merchandise, and I've been in this hobby for 20+ years.
I would curse Aquatraders more but my fingers are tired.... LOL
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