is a refugium pointless?

[The Reefer91]

the guy at my LFS said that a refugium in a sump wouldn't do anything for the tank. is this true? i was either gonna do a seperate refugium by the sump(for more water capacity) or a cpr H.O.B aquafuge. some insight would be helpful

 

[iaJim]

That seems contrary to the reports on this forum. That's where I'm planning on putting one, so I hope others here will weigh in on this.

 

[Gobie]

My 180 is only using a refugium and the water parameters are perfect all the time itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s been set up 5 years.

 

[abomb]

maybe if you have a seperate fuge he'll sell you more stuff. Fuges are all about volume and how much stuff you have in it. If you have a huge fuge that is built into a sump, that is much better than a small seperate fuge. Oh, and in me experience even a small fuge with a good light on it and algea has made a big difference.

 

[The Reefer91]

i think he said that using a pump would butcher any pods you wanted to go into the main tank

 

[reefarchitect]

I can say from personal experience that before I had a fuge, I would occasionally battle outbreaks of various types of algae. In the past year with a fuge, I have never seen any algae whatsoever in the display. I will say that the amount of chaeto I toss from the fuge is incredible though.

I am about to set up a 180 BB and am considering using a fuge on that as well.

Good luck

 

[The Reefer91]

thanks.still, does using a pump really kill all or most of the pods on the way up?

 

[Island Hopper]

I'm running a fudge only on my 150 and have had no problems. As for as pods, my tank is full of them with a Manderin. Don't worry about your pump.

 

[Gobie]

I have seen pods make it through. I think it is the microscopic organisms that feed your tank, they will make it through a pump. If you use a filter bag or filter material or skimmer you will be removing a lot of this. so I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t use filters or a skimmer at all.

 

[The Reefer91]

thnak you everybody. i was planning on getting a mandarin after a year or so.

 

[reefarchitect]

I agree,

If you are ever up at night, take a peek in your tank with a flashlight, you'll be amazed at how many pods are actually in there.

 

[The Reefer91]

bump

 

[EmergencyDpt]

I think that a pod would be pretty unlucky if he actually got hit by an impeller since fluid dynamics would keep the leading edge of the impeller bathed in a high pressure area. He would have to overcome the pressure differential to touch the impeller. More likely , he would be sucked into the low pressure area following the impeller and get a good spin on his way through the pump. Wheeee!

 

[zukihara]

Ok I'm no expert but a couple advantages of a fuge are nutrient export through the use of macro algae and the ability to combat ph swings using a reverse photoperiod lighting schedule on it. It is also a place where you may opt to employ a deep sand bed that is much easier to maintain/remove/whatever if something goes wrong or you believe in stirring it etc.

 

[The Reefer91]

that's what i was thinking, using a DSB for the refugium. i also heard that you can keep mated shrimp and have them lay eggs in the fuge, which are sent up as food.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6523020#post6523020 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Reefer91
that's what i was thinking, using a DSB for the refugium. i also heard that you can keep mated shrimp and have them lay eggs in the fuge, which are sent up as food.

I fuge is good for keeping all sorts of things that would either not do well in the main display, or be consumed by the other creatures in the main display. Macro algae, pods, shrimp, etc.

FWIW, I'd either talk to a different employee at that LFS from now on, or try another LFS. And try a google search for refugium - advancved aquarist has many featured tanks with refugiums, and wetwebmedia has some good info too.

hth

 

[The Reefer91]

thanks SDguy. the guy knows alot about some things(confirmed by others) but i always need to remember that they are still employees, and they have 1 goal

 

[trippyl]

i love my fuge. Even if I got rid of my dsb altogether and went BB, I'd still have a fuge connected to the system somewhere.

 

[trippyl]

and the pods are fine going through the pump. Pumps killing pods must be the number 1 misconception out there.

 

[Loralie]

I have a 110 gallon fuge for my 125. I love it. It keeps my ph in line, gives me a place to put any "naughty" critters, has really cool plants and lets me keep 3 mandrins fat and healthy. The pods are THICK in my tank. I also keep zoo's, shrooms and some xenia in there as well