Any SPS keepers still using a refugium these days?

Prop frags! or Mike and Terry, sorry for calling you steve..... don't know why i did that, I'm a goof..
id still like to know what type of algae you are growing and if you've always had it or if if appeared one day and took over..
also, what do you light your sump with?

re hype, you are using a combo of t5 and led over the main tank- its doing wonders... i see a lot of people having success with that combo...
what do you light your sump with?

actually, id be curious to know what anybody who runs a fuge, successfully uses as lighting..
 
I run a large fuge on a 24/7 light cycle. I find that it compliments my other equipment to offset my heavy feeding regimen. It keeps my ph more stable, nutrient export & aids in my acro coloration.
 
I run several remote areas with live rock, sand, etc. All the older systems (5 years or more) that I have personal experience with here locally use remote fuges with sand beds. Over the last 25 years in the hobby every one I know that has kept SPS without a remote fuge has either changed and added one to their system or gotten out of the hobby. I personally dont know of any older (5 years or more) successful systems without fuges. To be fair, most people dont stay in the hobby much more than 5 years or so anyway but those that do tend to simplify as time goes on. I am sure successful older systems without fuges exist. But, they are not common.
 
in my systems that I use carbon dosing, I have no fuge ... bacteria take care of the trace N and P.

other set ups, I have a Fuge, it does well controlling algae in main tank. except the NPS tank ... that has a cryptic zone fuge ...
 
I presently have a 20 gal. fuge with a dsb upstream of the skimmer/filter/carbon on a 90 g display. Read on an decide for yourself: we started with the fuge then decided frags were more important so tossed the chaeto. All good for about 3 months , then hair algae started to take hold in the display tank. Only hair algae. It got so bad I was taking it out in fist sized gobs and couldn't keep. 12 mos later I sold the frags and put the chaeto back to work. I remove a basketball sized ball about every 2-3 weeks...that is definitely some serious nutrient export there. No more hair algae.
 
I had a thread here once regarding sps, gfo, bacterial dosing and why I could not get chaeto to grow on my system. I came to the realization that my tank was too clean but yet I couldn't get rid of cyano in the display. I recently moved to a bigger house and put together a bigger system (over 700 gallons system) with a fuge and had the same result of chaeto not growing. It wasn't until I changed the fuge light from power compact daylight to a 150 watt metal halide that I began harvesting a bucket of chaeto every 2 weeks. And this is with carbon dosing and brs gfo. The amount of chaeto harvested and the clean display suggest it is helping my system more than anything else. Also, there was a period in time when I did not change the gfo often and it probably leeched phosphate back in the system. The chaeto grew more and compensated for my lack of husbandry. Long live chaeto!

I just have chaeto in my fuge. I shake it when I empty the fuge during water changes. Works great.
 
psykobowler said:
I had a thread here once regarding sps, gfo, bacterial dosing and why I could not get chaeto to grow on my system. I came to the realization that my tank was too clean but yet I couldn't get rid of cyano in the display. I recently moved to a bigger house and put together a bigger system (over 700 gallons system) with a fuge and had the same result of chaeto not growing. It wasn't until I changed the fuge light from power compact daylight to a 150 watt metal halide that I began harvesting a bucket of chaeto every 2 weeks. And this is with carbon dosing and brs gfo. The amount of chaeto harvested and the clean display suggest it is helping my system more than anything else. Also, there was a period in time when I did not change the gfo often and it probably leeched phosphate back in the system. The chaeto grew more and compensated for my lack of husbandry. Long live chaeto!

I just have chaeto in my fuge. I shake it when I empty the fuge during water changes. Works great.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I think I am pretty much convinced that I will try chaeto. I used it in the past, but was unsure about using it on this system or not as there are so many options out there for phosphate removal. One thing I think that makes chaeto awesome is that it is a renewable resource. GFO gets depleted, and I know there are some GFO's that are supposed to be rechargeable, but pruning some chaerto and letting it grow seems way simpler and extremely cost effective. I will likely still use GFO but hopefully won't need as much to get the job done.
 
Any other pros and cons of a fuge with SPS?
I'm thinking carbon dosing (6 or so years), GFO, rox carbon, good skimmer, water changes, the ability to wetvac sump and remove all Detritus, eliminates any benefit of a fuge...they just can't pull enough....comparatively....
 
Just to understand a little better, now days people don't use fuges? To my knowledge this has been an old yet great method to keep your tank stable. But things change so I could be wrong, what replaces a fuge? Reactors, carbon etc? Just trying to get a better understanding please excuse the question
 
if you have a sock then you should not hae detrius build up. why would it fuel nutrients. as stated its a save place with less flow under the surface tention for pods. or am i missing something?
It's not like I never believed in them, lol...I had one for five or so years...and when I had my pipefish I had two...


Well, it's simple...
Detritus, and the like will find a place to settle....in your display, overflow, or sump/fuge.....

Your socks will collect a lot, but not all...so the rest is contained in your "fuge/Cheato ball" which actually adds to the nutrients of your tank quicker than it can consume.....

With the advent of carbon dosing (6 years now or so) or bio pellets,, GFO, Rox Carbon, and the fact that you can't clean a fuge with a wetvac....you will eventually have a nutrient factory....a little ball of Cheato will not remove enough nutrients anyway for SPS on its own....
 
i have a 75g fuge on mine with a 150 dt and its great mostly caulapera algae no cheato but i want to get some been 8 years up and running i don't clean the fuge just remove algae, once it blocks the light lol. I also run gfo, gac, skimmer, scrubber. the scrubber is new.
 
Fugue

Fugue

Drae said:
That's two sets of pics from people claiming their fuges are at least somewhat responsible for their success. I personally believe in the benefits of a refugium simply for pods, ph swing, and to determine , to some degree, my nutrient level. Way more pros then cons IMO.
Click to expand...

+ 1. I agree with drae
I used to run a fuge and then I upgraded my setup and left out the fuge!
I miss having it everyday and I am considering breaking down my 5 month old settup to include a fuge. I used to have more pods as a natural food source and grew cheato and red dragon breath algae with some rubble on a reverse light cycle
 
There are several types of refugia and they go well with organic carbon dosing,ime. They need to be large enough to support a system on their own, perhaps too large for many as a practical matte. Here are some benefits of combining approaches:

The cryptic refugia provide extra surface area for colonization by the bacteria encouraged by organic carbon dosing ,extra surface area for gas exchange , increased water volume and habitat for zooxplanton filter feeders and pods.

The bare bottom macro algae refugium: exports nutrients relative to it's proportionate size to the aqaurium , lighting and nutreint load ; adds habitat for zooxplankton and pods; iused on opposite photperiod it uses CO2 when the rest of the system is respesiring it; thus, helping ph, and more importantly contributes oxygen during the system's non photosynthetic cylce offsetting night time hypoxia.

Organic carbon dosing: cultures heterotrophic facultaitve bacteria, which convert inorganic phosphate and nitrogen to exportable( via skimming and gac) organic forms and feed the food web from the bottom up.Spomges proliferate along with other filter feeders; zoanthidae like it too.

GFO and GAC help keep PO4 and organics under control but less are needed when other systems are employed wth it.
 
dunk373 said:
i have a 75g fuge on mine with a 150 dt and its great mostly caulapera algae no cheato but i want to get some been 8 years up and running i don't clean the fuge just remove algae, once it blocks the light lol. I also run gfo, gac, skimmer, scrubber. the scrubber is new.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to do the same thing but only with the fuge and a euroreef 180 skimmer. What light are you running on your fuge? i'm going to have a 50w smd led..
 
prop-frags said:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6795279172/" title="nt 2127 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6795279172_b9ebcbcd42_b.jpg" width="1024" height="335" alt="nt 2127"></a>

Great thread - thanks for starting it. We really like the natural methods!
Click to expand...

Wow! beautiful tank! :eek1:

i'd say totm worthy for sure!
 
karsseboom said:
I wouldn't really call a fuge a way to export nutrients. Most people who run fuges are to small to be effective. A small section in your sump with a dsb, ball of cheato is doing very little at reducing nitrate and po4. I am I trying to grow pods or acros? Do I care if I can put a mandarin down there where nobody can see? No
Click to expand...

+1 they have to be massive to rly export nutrients
 
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