Anyone have..

[allgoodsystems]

a tank I can use for a chaeto refugium? My tank is 170 gallons so any suggestions on the size of tank I will need just for chaeto would be appreciated.

If anyone has an old tank they want to sell, please let me know.

Thanks

 

[ai-reefer]

you don't need a refugium. Ever since i removed the fuge and chaeto, my tank has been doing so much better. Fuge collects all kinds of crap and can be a breeding ground for nuisance algae. I know people use refugium successfully but i think its a waste unless you have a really large tank like 200+ gallons.

here is a pic of my 120

I added a bag of PURA PhosLock and a bag of Seachem Purigen to the sump where the skimmer exits. I also have a bag of activated carbon. Nitrates and phosphates are non-existent.
I think this PURA is the best phophate remover out there. You need very little, and each time it lasts 4-6 months..

purigen is renewable, it can be cleaned and reused to remove organic waste.

 

[NeveSSL]

Actually, its only a waste if you don't take care of it.

Just like literally everything you put in your tank, if you keep your cheato free of detritus, it will be fine and will help your tank regardless of size.

Brandon

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Im looking to setup a fuge in my 75. Id be interested in a few pointers from anyone who has one. Is it worth it? Would it be better to go with a more mechanical approach?

 

[ai-reefer]

The work that went into maintaining my fuge was not worth the benifit it was giving me. It's just something that is more time consuming and adds more complexity, as opposed to just dropping a bag of media.

I was all about a fuge until i saw one of the most beautiful tanks i've ever seen on reefkeeping magazine, it had no fuge, only a skimmer and return. Thats all the convincing i needed. I now use the extra space to hold fresh water with Mg to auto topoff.

The benefits of a fuge have been very minimal in my experience. Infact, for me it created many more problems and extra work. For others it could be the complete opposite experience. Just look at my tank up there, my enemone just split into 3, three weeks after i bought it. Also the use of PhosLock, Purigen and A.Carbon will polish the water like you've never seen. I cant even tell there is any water in my tank. It looks like RO/DI water

You should come see my tank in person, you will see that there is absolutely no reason to maintain a fuge in most cases.

On the other hand, if you can have a small "second tank" to your sytem with MH lighting, and something (coral/live rock) that consumes CO2 at night while your display is releasing CO2, i think that would be much more benificial than a fuge. It would kind of ease the pH drop. I plan to do that someday

 

[MVlk]

What work? Just split the cheato ball as needed. Done! I can see it being a lot of work if you do one of the display fuges... those look nice, but not worth it in IMO. A simple Cheato fuge could not be easier. A small 10 gallon tank with water flowing through it with a cheap clip on light and CFL bulb will make it work well. I'll let some of the veteran reefers correct me if I am wrong, but I think you will find very few not in favor of its benefits.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Well.....I've got two weeks to decide wich root Im gonna take. I was leaning towards a fuge with sand, algae and mangroves. You cant deny that ai-reefer's tank looks awesome. Ive also seen really nice setups that have a fuge. It sounds like ai-reefer's setup is probably the most maintenance free. Would you guys think that its just a matter or preference or ? Id like to put together a list of pros and cons. And get some more input from people who go more mechanical and those who use a fuge.

 

[andywe]

Wow AI..dunno what you were doing, but the direction you've taken is one of impending issue...although I hope not.

Phosban and such strip your water in a very harsh way of more than just phosphate. Thats why any type of GFO product is only to be used at intervals and not 100% of the time.

I went ULNS an have no phos whatsoever without stripping the water of aminos and trace elements.

I also do have some cheato jsut floating in my sump with a cheep clip on light. let me tell you, it has stabilized my nightly PH swing to a minor difference. Satbility is the key and cheato is nto bad for a tank unless you let it overrun your area. Maintenance is simple...tear it in half and toss the excess..LOL.

 

[NeveSSL]

My point is simply that on larger systems, refugiums are much less expensive (and I mean MUCH) than are using all of the things you mentioned, AI. I definitely believe those things work, and your tank does look great! Kudos! I just can't afford to be buying them all the time for my main system. My nano, on the other hand, you bet I'll be using Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite.

Brandon

 

[MVlk]

On my new nano I am running Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite, not really an option not to because of scale... However I still have some cheato thrown in with a alternating schedule light on the back.

I'd stay away from the Mangroves. I thought about doing them with my former larger tank because I had lots of room. From what I read, they really are pretty inefficient at exporting the bad stuff. Cheato beats them hands down. No as far as looking cool, no question they rock. But again, you are then getting into a more complex than needed fuge. IMO of course.

 

[fallinapart]

I have a 10gallon tank you can have if you can make it work for you, already has baffles in it, as it was the sump on my 55gal I took down.

 

[NeveSSL]

Where is the best place you've found to get the Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite, Michael? I'm thinking Drs. Foster and Smith as of now. Are you running a media tray?

Brandon

 

[ai-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15756472#post15756472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by andywe
Wow AI..dunno what you were doing, but the direction you've taken is one of impending issue...although I hope not.

If you don't know what i did, how can you possibly know the direction i've taken is one of impending issue?

lol im joking

also when my tank crashes and everything dies, i'll post a thread and let everyone know lol
but i know what you are saying and i will take what you said into consideration. I'll watch my tank more carefully and post any unusual changes. I never really though about the "harshness" of the Phosphate remover because its is impossible to know if and how much of the amino acids and trace elements it removed.

I do use reef plus and reef trace everyday along with B-Ionic 2 part which also has a lot of trace elements.

 

[allgoodsystems]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15757074#post15757074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fallinapart
I have a 10gallon tank you can have if you can make it work for you, already has baffles in it, as it was the sump on my 55gal I took down.

Sounds great Norman. Are you going to be around tomorrow?

 

[andywe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15757272#post15757272 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ai-reefer
If you don't know what i did, how can you possibly know the direction i've taken is one of impending issue?

lol im joking

also when my tank crashes and everything dies, i'll post a thread and let everyone know lol
but i know what you are saying and i will take what you said into consideration. I'll watch my tank more carefully and post any unusual changes. I never really though about the "harshness" of the Phosphate remover because its is impossible to know if and how much of the amino acids and trace elements it removed.

I do use reef plus and reef trace everyday along with B-Ionic 2 part which also has a lot of trace elements.

Now you do have a very beautiful tank..so keep that balance you've got going

I will prefeace what I stated by the fact that on my 24 nano's I use Chemi pure wth great success, and on my 29 I use Chemi Pure and a little Cheato also with great success!

The biggest thing I notice is that with the cheato, my ph is much more stable. ALl of my nanos have zero phosphates, Nitrates, and Ammonia ( I know Brandon, it means I don;t have enough fish lol).

The cheato in my 180 sump is all of a few eeks old, and has improved my PH stability down there.

If you are using tap water and not RODI water, then some form of Phosphate remover will be mandatory imo.

Regards,

Andy


PS.. start having these discussions on our website! www.mtrc.org

 

[allgoodsystems]

you don't need a refugium. Ever since i removed the fuge and chaeto, my tank has been doing so much better. Fuge collects all kinds of crap and can be a breeding ground for nuisance algae. I know people use refugium successfully but i think its a waste unless you have a really large tank like 200+ gallons.

I added a bag of PURA PhosLock and a bag of Seachem Purigen to the sump where the skimmer exits. I also have a bag of activated carbon. Nitrates and phosphates are non-existent.
I think this PURA is the best phophate remover out there. You need very little, and each time it lasts 4-6 months..

purigen is renewable, it can be cleaned and reused to remove organic waste.

OK. I am a believer in the purigen. My nitrates were hitting around 80. I bought a bag of the purigen and put it in my filter. Waited 24 hours and checked the nitrates again. Down to 20. Waited one week and checked again. Nitrates at 0.

This stuff does work.

 

[NeveSSL]

And its rechargeable, too.

Brandon