Optimizing a Refugium - need help/opinions

[Deleted member 143833]

I have a refugium and am trying to optimize it. Allow me to explain...

I have a 45 g refugium on a 180 g tank. Miracle mud, 1200 Gph turnover, no skimmer, many fish, corals, eel, clam, etc. All is happy (levels of everything are quite optimal: NO2, NO3, Po4 all 0, Calc 470, etc). Overrall I am happy with how things are with one exception; cyano bacteria keeps collecting in the refugium. The display tank is very clean; no algae of any kind but I have not found a good method to clear out the cyano. I have tried adding a pump in the refug for a little more water movement but that just stirs the mud which in turn clouds the main tank.

I am curious to hear from others who may have solved this issue, and/or who have some opinion on what I should try.

Oh, tank is 15 years old, refugium I setup in December/Jan 07 and I love the results, just looking for some help fine tuning things!

Thanks,
Ken

 

[edandsandy]

try some red legged hermit crabs, we had the same problem, we added 3 or 4 for a cuple of weeks they did a good job of cleaning up also 1 snail. We then moved them to our big tank. Then we added 2 feather dusters to the fuge. no more cyano bacteria.

 

[billsreef]

Get a couple of the small fighting conchs or Tonga Conchs. They will eat Cyano and not hurt the refugium critters. I also wouldn't worry so much about cyano in the fuge if your not having a problem with it in the main tank.

 

[ScarabRa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10685589#post10685589 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Get a couple of the small fighting conchs or Tonga Conchs. They will eat Cyano and not hurt the refugium critters. I also wouldn't worry so much about cyano in the fuge if your not having a problem with it in the main tank.

Do thy eat red green and black or just red??

Is this common knowledge now? or personal experience?

Very interested to try your suggestion on one of my tanks

 

[billsreef]

It's generally common knowledge and often used as a selling point for many places that sell them. I've only had a little of the red stuff on occasion that have had both those species as well as the queen conchs eat. happily I can say I haven't had any of the green or black to try them on, but I'd expect they would eat that as well.

 

[JeffersonReef]

is there any macro algae in the fuge? that should out-compete cyano for nutrients. Other than that, since you said your phosphates are at zero, I dont know what it could be feeding on... check for silicates perhaps? Also is ur fuge lighting due for a new bulb? Add a few more powerheads perhaps... but I would just be afraid of it getting into the display tank. If you have some kind of mechanical filtration that will keep the cyano in the fuge and not the display, I would kick up the flow.... or just leave the cyano. As long as it is in the fuge, it is actually doing its job. Just MHO.

 

[erendon]

I had the same problem. Cut the ligt off for a couple of days until you see the cyno start to die off. It did the trick for me. I had a lot of the stuff before! I had the same questions you did when I saw the stuff. I have a 180 reef with a fuge.

 

[UrbanSage]

If it is in the fuge then the fuge is serving part of its purpose

Try running some phosphate absorbing media if it bothers you.

 

[RichConley]

If the cyano is just in the fuge, dont worry about it, just keep siphoning it out. Its nutrient export.