Refugium Ideas

[jefft321]

I am finally setting up my new aquarium and I am trying to decide what to put in the refugium section of my sump. I was thinking of sand, live rock, and cheato. Should I put all of them in there? or just cheato, cheato and live rock, live rock and cheato, etc. I just wanted to get some feed back on what others are doing that works well.
Thanks.

 

[Cove Beach]

I have all of the above in mine, except for mine is a tub connected to the system lit with two 100w corkscrew bulbs. It has all sorts of life in it besides the macro. Mini brittle stars,snails, pods,peppermint shrimp,bristle worms and a big chiton. Depending on how much space you have you may want to skip the sand especially if you have a bunch of turbulence in the chamber.

 

[princesuhaib]

Hey I would like to also know what everyone has in their refugium. I am also about to set mine up!

 

[acer]

For the 90 mixed reef I use Cheato, rubble rock and some sand, Hermits, a pink lobster ( I thought he had killed a fire fish so in the refugium he went) , I also have the in/out for the carbon/phosban reactor and use a old reptile light to grow the cheato.

My other setup has the refugium next to the display - so it is really just a separate tank that gravity feeds the display with a lot of cheato and mangrove in it that also has a mandarin, rubble rock, sand and a yellow clown gobi tha tis lit with a 55 watt PC daylight bulb. . This set up has a sump with the skimmer under it.

 

[droberts]

id like to know also i just set up my 125 with a 65 gal sump i have added in sand ,rock, and chato any other ideas? i was thinking a couple emerald crabs maybe some hermit crabs im still undecided but i still have time to wait because it still needs time to cycle. any ideas on how to get it to cycle faster? any imput is good imput so thanks.

 

[princesuhaib]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15530928#post15530928 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by droberts
id like to know also i just set up my 125 with a 65 gal sump i have added in sand ,rock, and chato any other ideas? i was thinking a couple emerald crabs maybe some hermit crabs im still undecided but i still have time to wait because it still needs time to cycle. any ideas on how to get it to cycle faster? any imput is good imput so thanks.

You dont want to do things fast in the tank, you will just destroy it, remember in this hobby you must be very patient, and nothing good happens when you do things fast. The only way really for the cycle to go faster is add more live rock, how much rock do you have now?

 

[cveverly]

Re: Refugium Ideas

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15530016#post15530016 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jefft321
I was thinking of sand, live rock, and cheato. Should I put all of them in there?

Mine has all of the above along with all kinds of pods, worms, stars and snails. One thing I did a little different is to put my sand in containers. If the sand get nutrient soaked I can remove part of it at a little at a time and replace with fresh sand. Not a well tested theory but it looks good on paper. :lol:

 

[Tonycip]

+1 for cheato and live rubble rock..

 

[DEERE G]

^^^ +2 ^^^

 

[Tswifty]

I'm now in the barebottom refugium group. Sand, LR, Rubble, etc... really just creates a trap for deritus to settle in your sump. If you want rock or something like that, I would elevate it on an eggcrate rack and run a small powerhead underneath to keep deritus in suspension where it can either be taken up by the corals or filtered off.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tonycip]

good Idea on the egg crate.. I forgot all my water goes through a filter sock first 100 microns.. not much getting through. I know what your thinking.. natrate trap but I have 7 and change them out every couple of days.. once a week throw them in the wash ..

 

[cveverly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15531591#post15531591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tswifty
Sand, LR, Rubble, etc... really just creates a trap for deritus to settle in your sump.

That was another reason I used containers for my sandbed in the refugium. I have a powerhead that blows all the goo around so it does not get trapped and make nitrate pockets.

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15531653#post15531653 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tonycip
good Idea on the egg crate.. I forgot all my water goes through a filter sock first 100 microns.. not much getting through. I know what your thinking.. natrate trap but I have 7 and change them out every couple of days.. once a week throw them in the wash ..

I use filter socks as well Tony, and think they are great. Like you mentioned, they just need to be changed frequently before they become problematic. I change mine twice per week, but have gona as long as a week between changes with no noticeable changes in water params. Anyway... here's the reasoning for my switch...

Most people know I am pretty OCD about my tank maintenance, and run a very clean system. Well I've always ran a 2-4" substrate comprised of LR Rubble in my fuge area. Also, to keep stuff from settling I ran a branch off my manifold into the fuge for extra flow.

Just for kicks, I pulled it out to see if what I was hearing was true... my results shocked me. It was sick! I had no idea how much crap was building up down there. Here are some pics I took during the process.

After:

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15531674#post15531674 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cveverly
That was another reason I used containers for my sandbed in the refugium. I have a powerhead that blows all the goo around so it does not get trapped and make nitrate pockets.

Another thing to point out here... it all depends on the system you intend to run. Most of my advice comes from an SPS dominant perspective, whereas Softies, LPS, and FOWLR tanks have different tolerances and requirements. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing, and arguably no one way better than another. What I mentioned above had simply been my experiences and observations. Coming up with a way to remove your sandbed easily is a great idea by the way. HTH

 

[Tonycip]

jonny on the spot with the pics..lol . cant argue with that...

 

[donbmax]

I use "mud" mixed w my sand bed - just another way of doing it. I think it's great to allow some unique algae varieties to grow, so I don't have crabs in the refugium - mostly just a lot of snails. No sock.

 

[NaClH2O_PGH]

I have no rock, sand or macro and pods still flurish down there.

 

[cveverly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15531715#post15531715 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tswifty
Another thing to point out here... it all depends on the system you intend to run. Most of my advice comes from an SPS dominant perspective, whereas Softies, LPS, and FOWLR tanks have different tolerances and requirements. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing, and arguably no one way better than another. What I mentioned above had simply been my experiences and observations. Coming up with a way to remove your sandbed easily is a great idea by the way. HTH

I apologize if I came across wrong. I was in not trying to say my way was better or even conflicting. I was just offering an idea if sand is needed or desired. I thought a long time about adding the sand to my sump and never got an answer as convincing as yours. Actually I never got an answer at all so I followed the crowed with a twist. If I had heard a good argument I would have skipped the sand altogether.

I may remove the sand as it has only been in my sump a week. If there is no good reason to have it then maybe it should go.

BTW, I also run a sock and wonder if nylon is better or worse than fabric. I use nylon micron 150 because they are free. I replace it every couple days. Any preference from the sock people?

 

[Tswifty]

No no no, you didn't come across wrong. I just added that to the post, so it didn't seem like I was trying to say that was the "only" way to run a refugium is all. It wasn't directed at anyone, just a general statement I was making.