Rubicon Beast
New member
I recently added sand and a few live rockets to my Refugium. I ordered some Chaeto and pods and added a light. Within a month, the Refugium was overgrown with green hair algae and bubble algae. Happily, I did not have any in my DT, but was afraid that it would spread.
I turned the lights down from 18 to 12 hours a day and I cut back the feedings in my DT. Then I headed to my LFS for a CUC for the Refugium. The day I went, they didn't have much to choose from. I came home w a Short Spine Urchin.
Within a day he had buried himself into the middle of my ball of Chaeto. After several days of him hiding and the bubble algae getting worse, I pulled the Chaeto out and tore the ball open and removed the urchin. The Chaeto was pretty much shredded to the point where it would just clog up the sponge filter, so I discarded it. Without any macro algae, I turned the light back to just 6 hours a day. After a couple of weeks, the algae was pretty much gone.
Now, I'm looking to rebuild.:
I have ordered more Chaeto and a couple large Turbo Snails.
Is a short spine urchin and Chaeto a bad combination, or was the urchin just looking for a place to hide? He has since found a consistent place that he likes to hide in the rocks during the day.
Should I replace the urchin with the snails and place the urchin in the DT?
Or will a Short Spine Urchin tear up the live rock in the DT too much? He has done a number on the rocks in the Refugium in the short time I have had him. My Tuxedo Urchin does not bore into the rocks the same way.
I turned the lights down from 18 to 12 hours a day and I cut back the feedings in my DT. Then I headed to my LFS for a CUC for the Refugium. The day I went, they didn't have much to choose from. I came home w a Short Spine Urchin.
Within a day he had buried himself into the middle of my ball of Chaeto. After several days of him hiding and the bubble algae getting worse, I pulled the Chaeto out and tore the ball open and removed the urchin. The Chaeto was pretty much shredded to the point where it would just clog up the sponge filter, so I discarded it. Without any macro algae, I turned the light back to just 6 hours a day. After a couple of weeks, the algae was pretty much gone.
Now, I'm looking to rebuild.:
I have ordered more Chaeto and a couple large Turbo Snails.
Is a short spine urchin and Chaeto a bad combination, or was the urchin just looking for a place to hide? He has since found a consistent place that he likes to hide in the rocks during the day.
Should I replace the urchin with the snails and place the urchin in the DT?
Or will a Short Spine Urchin tear up the live rock in the DT too much? He has done a number on the rocks in the Refugium in the short time I have had him. My Tuxedo Urchin does not bore into the rocks the same way.
