do you run a fuge or not ?

[saltwaternoobie]

This week's challenge is sump design ! I have looked at numerous sump designs ! I will be building a 40 gallon sump . My main question is do you run a refugium ? How much extra work is it and us it worth it ?.I am sure this has been asked numerous times . However any input would be great !

 

[jonb154]

I've run refugiums on all of my set ups from 60 gal to 'my current 180, I like the 'pods I get wit the algae and I always felt it was a more natural way of keeping your water nitrate/ phosphate free between water changes, but you should research what is right for what you are trying to do. As far as extra work, I've always found it to be negligible!

 

[CStrickland]

Nope.
But I've only had my tank a year so it's not like I can really say for sure.
It's just about what you think is easier really. Like, even though you don't have to do all that much to a fuge I like having a simpler system. I feel like it's easier when there's not as much going on behind the scenes.

I think the naturalest thing would be having the tide come in twice a day and wash all the poop off my little reef but since that would be a lot of work I settle for doing a weekly 10% waterchange where I blow that stuff out of my rocks and suck it from the tank.

You'll probs change your sump around a few times anyway. You should def try to set it up just right, and it's great you're thinking about all the options, but nothing's set in stone if you change your mind later. I don't think having a fuge is a deal breaker cause I've seen nice tanks both ways.

 

[davocean]

Benefits of a fuge, free live food, PH stability, nutrient export, holding area.
I always have one, the space is already there, it only takes an added baffle and chaeto.

 

[oscarreef]

I wouldn't do any other reef tank if it didn't have a fuge. Trust my word when I say I am a rookie in this hobby and I do not regret my fuge. My next setup will have one aswell . Half my sump is a fuge try it if you don't like it get rid of it . No harm know trying it .

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've been in the hobby for almost 15 years and have done 9 or 10 tanks over that time. My current 180g (sps & lps) and 75g hex (Gorgonian tank) are 5 years old now and are tied into a 180g sump/refugium/DSB. The sump is 90g, the refugium is 45g (2'x2'x1.5') full of just Chaeto and a 45g DSB (same size) with 8" to 10" of fine sand. My other 2 tanks ar only 1 and 3 yers old but they share a 125g sump/refugium.

I've done tanks without and tanks with. I think most any sump is worth the effort and they aren't a lot of work. But I'm not sure a small refugium (less than 5% of the tank volume) does much. It's probably better than not having one at all, but bigger is better). A big refugium (10% or more of the tank volume) is useful for removing nitrate and phosphate an growing pods. They do involve a small bit of work and extra equipment (lighting), but I think they can make a real difference. I have nitrate and phosphate numbers that rarely get my attention (unless something disappears in the tank... like a dead fish back in the rock work). On a 400g system I do a 25g water change about once every 4 to 6 months. Not because I have to, but because I think it's a good idea!

 

[saltwaternoobie]

Thanks for all the great advice ! It is much appreciated so thanks to those who took the time to respond!

 

[JammyBirch]

I run a fuge, with a 25g nano DT i bet i have the smallest fuge on RC...4g

I love it and so does my daughter. i have 3" of sand in it and a bunch of rubble, i added an old circ pump to it to keep is stirred up in there and wow it has exploded with life and coralline algae.

I use it for entertainment mostly, the benefits are added LR storage and free pods that are going nuts in there 24/7.

I've decided to start curing rock in it since LR can be pretty expensive, with this converter i can give it away to folks getting started in my area.

One other use for the fuge is, well, it's a prison for A-hole crabs, i have a blue leg and a thin line that are murderous idiots and will spend a life sentence in the fuge working.

I guess if you were dead set against having one or space confined...sure you don't need one. I do nothing to mine and couldn't imagine having a tank without it.

 

[RocketEngineer]

I would add one piece of advice: Set it up do do one thing only.

Folks tend to set up a refugium and want it to do too many things: produce pods, grow chaeto/macro algae, DSB. Each of these different uses works best with a slightly different setup. Pods work best with lots of rocks. Macro algae is easiest to handle when you have very few rocks especially chaeto which likes to be tumbled for best growth. A remote DSB should be just sand and water with no lighting. In this case, multi-purpose is more likely to be problematic than using the space for a single purpose.

 

[cloak]

I've never found the need to set up a refugium in any of my tanks before. Regular water changes, an efficient skimmer and a little elbow grease seems to do the trick for me. I'm actually surprised sometimes that some of these refugiums I see are actually doing anything beneficial, being that most of them just look filthy. KISS, GL.

 

[Conor_K]

I would add one piece of advice: Set it up do do one thing only.

Folks tend to set up a refugium and want it to do too many things: produce pods, grow chaeto/macro algae, DSB. Each of these different uses works best with a slightly different setup. Pods work best with lots of rocks. Macro algae is easiest to handle when you have very few rocks especially chaeto which likes to be tumbled for best growth. A remote DSB should be just sand and water with no lighting. In this case, multi-purpose is more likely to be problematic than using the space for a single purpose.

With this in mind, is the same volume of water reccomended for each purpose?

I like the idea of specializing, but only so much room to work with...

 

[JoJoTheClown]

The fuges add an additional layer of filtration and also provide a safe habitat for Pods to flourish before getting sucked in to the tank (once in the main tank they are fooood). I am a big goby/blennie guy so a fuge is critical to any tank I run.. I have a few reefer buddies who actually used the fuge for seahorses.. obviously depends on your flow and tastes..

I say if you have the opportunity for a fuge, go for it.

 

[RocketEngineer]

With this in mind, is the same volume of water recommended for each purpose?

I like the idea of specializing, but only so much room to work with...

For a brand new setup, you're not likely to have nitrate/phosphate problems so the pod zone is a good place to start. If you start having algae issues in the display, you can then convert the same volume to macro algae production by removing most/all of the rocks.

A DSB is really only good for nitrate reduction when phosphates are well controlled with other methods. Personally, I think a remote DSB does best in a separate container. In my case, I use a 5g bucket to house mine on its own dedicated pump. That way if I ever think its causing a problem I can remove it from the system very easily.