Biocube 29 nano refugium

M

MTF7

New member
Ok first off I have had a SW for about 3 years now.....just not sucsessful. But this time around I want to add a refugium as I never have so I don't really have much experience with them. I want to add it for..
1. More water volume.
2. Copeopod production.
3. And a place to put a better skimmer.

I have a lot of questions
1. What size skimmer should I use?
2. How should my plumbing be drilled gravity with return pump or what I have been thinking of is both pump fed and pump return.
3. What should my GPH be withing the refugium?
4. I have seen that some people do a sump then a refugium off the sump do I have to do it like that or can I just do a refugium with baffles?
5. What tank shoul I use? I am planing on a 20G I just want to know if a 20H or a 20L is better.

Thanks I'm sure I will have more questions I just can't think all of them right now.
 
If your going to do a sump you should just sell the biocube and get a reef read 30g or something along those lines. If you keep the biocube get an HOB skimmer.

I have a 28 nano myself and have found theres not that much room in the back of them. I cant have a fuge in the middle chamber because Im running a Remora skimmer and a TLF 150 with GFO and the MJ1200s that run those fit in the middle chamber.
 
Anyone try a fuge in the 1st chamber with success? There is room (I think) for one of those iRack fuge baskets in there.

One obvious issue would be the back in chamber 1 is solid plastic so you'd have to install the light underwater of above chamber 1...


My 2nd chamber is filled up as well with a media basket and skimmer.
 
I Have tried the intank refugium and media basket and I didn't like it very much. One of the main things that I want for the refugium is to add water volume. My old setup was
In the first chamber a biocube skimmer(aka nothing really)
2nd. Intank media basket with filter flood purigen then chemi pure elite and the in tank refugium basket with a few pices of LRR and cheato and a submersible light which actually wasn't that submersible...
3rd of course, the return pump
 
I agree I like the look of my 28 nano,but I dont think I could effectively put a sump underneath it.
 
I made a custom DIM stand that will host a 20H inside of it and then I put a nice counter top on the top of the stand am I am thinking of adding sort of like a mini sink where I can dump like test water and it will go to like a gallon jug and I just dump the jug every once in a while.
 
Ok scratch all of what I have been saying, I decided to go with a 2nd chamber refugium and just frequent water changes, so for the refugium I'm not going to go with the in tank one I already constructed a DIY egg crate version which offers a bunch more space then the inTank one my question is should I put sand at the bottom or no sand? I have the LRR suspended about 1 inch of the bottom by a rack so the detritus doesn't stay on the rock, also any ideas of small critters to put back there to help with cleaning the detritus that manages to make it to the bottom?
 
Ok my custom thing was terrible idea so I just stuck with the inTank although I might cusomize the media basket which will add a top rack does anyone think that I could put sand or even refugium mud in the back? Just to max out the bio filter
 
Dont use mud. Ive never used it myself but every old reefer I talk to got away from it for one reason or another. I think you should be fine if you just some LR and cheato.
 
Ok I just have some live rock now, my tank is super cloudy like even when I replace the filter floss it gets super cloudy
 
Any time I mess with my sand in my nano it gets cloudy for a few hours,nothing you can really do about it. As long as it clears up I wouldnt worry about it.
 
Ok what about when I start getting fish and clean up crew will they be ok or will that mess with them at all
 
They will be fine.

I would suggest a diamond head goby as part of the CUC. they do a magnificent job as far as cleaning the sand,the best Ive seen. You may have to trade him in down the road as they can get bigger than whats recommended for a nano but that will be a while down the road. And if you do get one make sure that when you feed that food makes it down to the bottom of the tank for him to eat.
 
Wow that was actually the fish that I was going to get and I already have food for him I got some shrimp pellets that sink to the bottom
 
Alright when do you think I could add the diamond goby? I tested my water today
.25 ammonia
.05 nitrate
.25 nitrite ( nitrite and nitrate might be switched)
And after I tested I did a 5 gallon water change so they are probably lower now.
As for the diamond goby do you have one?
 
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