bioballs or refugium

[josh&jana]

hi all,

just after some tips on what i should do with my new set up.
i have just brought a 8Lx2wx2.5H foot tank with a 6Lx1.5x2h.sump, i got the whole set up for 1/4 of the price new so i couldnt pass it up. the sump has a spot for bio balls to go in and is currently full of them,
1. is it better to start the tank cycling with them first then swap it over to a refugium, or can i start a refugium straight away.

2. i have read about the alge that you all grow in hte refugiums, do LFS sell this stuff or where can i get it from.

3. i have a spare 2x150 mh light that i can use over the sump/refugium is this to much light or is it ok.

the tank will be a reef tank and i will be using a DSB in the main tank of about 4" and if i go the refugium way maybe a 5" DSB in that to.

any comment will be much apreciated

thanks josh & jana....:thumbsup:

 

[McCrary]

I would ditch the bioballs, your tank should cycle fine without them and they may create nitrate problems in your tank later. The macroalgaes that are kept in refugiums should be available from your LFS or you can get them online. The 2x250's would probably create heat issues, you can string a couple T5's under the tank to light the long refugium you will have (5400K would be a good spectrum, or close to that).

 

[jimbo78]

you can get a couple clip on desk lights and a couple of daylight spiral florescents at home depot and that will be fine for the fuge. the lamps are like $10 and the bulb's are about $7 for the biggest size.

 

[josh&jana]

jimbo
whats home depot mate, is that like a big hardware store that has everything. in australia we call them bunnings hardware, thanks for the info guys i had a feeling the lights i had might be a bit to strong for a sump

 

[josh&jana]

what about that cheto stuff is that worth looking into to put in the refugium, can i get that at a LFS to or is it a bit harder to get

 

[McCrary]

Chaeto is good stuff to put in a refugium, it should be available at your LFS, caulerpa is good stuff as well I use both in my refuge.

 

[josh&jana]

hey matt

do you feed you chaeto or is the nutrients in the water sufficiant for it to live on,
and also is your refuge before or after your skimmer.
at the moment my bio balls are after the skimmer, wich is where i was going to put my refugium i will have room in the last section of the sump to place a new skimmer (between the return pumps) and feed the skimmed water back through the sump so as not to get any bubbles in the display. do you think having the skimmer after the refugium is nessasary or does it not really matter.
sorry for all the questions but i want to get it right the first time..
thanks mate