Refugium food source

[MarkD40]

I am about to add a 20 gallon refugium with cheato to my system. I have a 75 gallon sump in the basement. My return water from the display tank is directed into a perforated basket filled with filter floss suspended in a 5 gallon bucket. the bucket has 2 bulkhead fittings in the bottom with half the water spilling into the sump, and the other half pumped through my protein skimmer before it returns to the sump.

My question is whether enough detritis is making it into the sump to feed the sand stirrers in the sump, and if enough "food" will reach the critters in the refugium.

 

[Pandora]

I think it should be fine. It's not so much the solid detritus that is feeding them, it is also a lot of the dissolved nutrients, such as nitrate, especially for the macroalgae. You should not need to feed your refugium extra, this would be backwards. Your refugium should help the main tank, not the other way around.

 

[MarkD40]

Thanks Pandora,
It just seems to me that copopods et. el. need something to sink their teeth into to survive! Mark

 

[Pandora]

Mark: maybe consider taking out the basket? I know some people like a prefilter, but to me, it's just another thing to get clogged and have to clean out. I wouldn't worry too much about them getting solid food so long as you have strong circulation through the pipes, regardless of how far it travels.

 

[MarkD40]

Good advice Pandora. I have been considering doing just that but needed someone to give me a nudge. Thanks, Mark

 

[Pandora]

Yup good luck Mark! (I feel bad to have hogged your posts by replying, maybe someone else can add their 2 cents too lol).

But for me, I think all the solid stuff that comes out of the main tank could potentially be degraded by the critters in the fuge. I think that's cool that your fuge is so much bigger than your main tank! Someone else was chronicling a similar situation in "Overkill Reef" something like that diary... sump was like over 100 gallons and main tank was only around 20!

 

[Fast Fred]

If you want your pods to multiply and thrive, you could try dosing phytoplankton. This will feed your filter-feeding corals and inverts also.

 

[MarkD40]

Thanks again Pandora. Just for the record my display tank is 110 gallons, my sump is 75 gallons,and my fuge will be 20 gallon.

 

[MarkD40]

Hey Fast Fred,

Does phytoplankton add much to the bioload? Can I run my skimmer after dosing or should I shut it off for a period of time? BTW, I was born in and lived in N.J. until my early thirties and still have family there. Bada Bing, Bada Boom.