How is your refugium set up

[rockdiver]

In a refugium do you have a fish? LR? LS?
OF COURSE MACRO. Mine is set up with everything but no fish
I have snails crabs LR LS and macro.
it seems like I have alot of "crap" just sitting on top of the sand.
My last one didnt have any LS in it just macro and LR
So whatch think?????
Any ideas??
rockdiver

 

[Kmiec123]

See alot of infor on DYI Do-it-youself threads...Hope this helped./..Carl

 

[Pufferpunk]

I have about 2" sand. I've been asking everyone I meet for a cupfull, to seed my bed. I have about 1/3 of the tank full of cheato. I'd like to have more rubble in there. No crabs or anything live yet. Was wondering what crabs to put in there.

 

[rockdiver]

Well same crabs as your tank.
Thats what I got the sand and all.
But messing around in there today there was a ton of detris(?) all on top of the sand does not seem to affect anything (except me) Levels are all fine nitrates are about 20. Never had this when it was just sand. Have tons of pods now (and before).
The flow is calm in there.
Should I maybe dump the skimmer flow into there?
Or just leave it be

 

[rockdiver]

Or maybe I just need more snails and crabs only got a few in there.

 

[flapjack1439]

I've wondered the same thing. I'm hesitant about putting crabs and such in there. Isn't the idea for it to be a refuge for the pods? Hence, putting in crabs and other predators counter productive?

 

[rockdiver]

I dont think the crabs would have a effect on the pods

 

[Pufferpunk]

Will the crabs get enough to eat though?

 

[JeffReef]

If I remember it correctly, hermit crabs will eat pods according to Adelaide Rhodes (of www.oceanpods.com) who spoke in one of our club meetings.


http://faculty.washington.edu/acer/index.shtml

 

[Pufferpunk]

Right now, I'm just keeping some snails in there & a zoa-eating algae blenny I have to send to the LFS.

 

[BradL.]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8706738#post8706738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
Right now, I'm just keeping some snails in there & a zoa-eating algae blenny I have to send to the LFS.

Are you saying you have a Lawn Mower Blenny that eats Zoas.??
Ive never heard of that.

 

[ppurcell]

I have about 20 zebra hermits in my refugium and I have a very healthy pod population.

Here is my setup:

20g refugium w/ ~400 gph flow
two 23watt 6500K compact flourescent bulbs w/reflectors on reverse daylight schedule
4" southdown
~4 lbs of LR rubble
lots of empty snail shells

~20 zebra hermits
~5 blue leg hermits
1 electric orange hermit
~5 astrea snails
~10 nerite snails
1 cerith snail
1 cucumber (although it isn't doing very well anymore probably not enough food for it)
1 large serpent star

~12" ball of chaetomorpha
small amount of sawtooth caulerpa
one mangrove plant

The sand bed and glass in the tank is clean considering I haven't scrubbed the glass in 3 weeks. Nitrates are less than 1 ppm.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Wow, that's a lot of critters!

Are you saying you have a Lawn Mower Blenny that eats Zoas.??

I couldn't believe it myself, if i hadn't seen it with my own eyes! Dirty snot!

 

[ppurcell]

I ran my refugium for 3-4 months with only LS LR rubble and chaeto and it had a lot of detritus, and some nuisance algae (including some cyano) in it. I upgraded my skimmer and added the critters and it is much, much cleaner now. The skimmer is probably responsible for a lot of the reduction, but the hermits and snails are in there doin their thing too.

I would say I have more pods now than before I added the snails and hermts.

 

[rockdiver]

Ya guess I just need more critters lol skimmer is a ASM3 so no problem there pull the smellest stuff around