I recently installed a 27g (20Lx16Wx20H) on my 220g reef tank. The refugium is gravity fed by my overflow water (~500gph) and then gravity feeds into my main sump containing a ASM G4+ skimmer. I have a 5in sugar grain argonite sand bed, a small pile of live rock rubble, gracillaria, and two softball sized portions of chaetomorpha. The main goal of this refugium is to produce pods for the large amount of planktivore fish (anthias, fairy wrasses, gobies, etc) in the main. My tank is pretty heavily stocked, so I have to feed them a good amount. Anyway, the refugium has only been set up for two weeks and I have to constantly stir the algae to prevent detrius and sediment from covering the algae. I know the gracillaria and chaetomorpha should be slowly tumbling, and I thought my flow rate would be adequate, but I dont think it is. The algae doesnt move much at all. I plan to add a 160gph powerhead with a Flo rotating nozzle, but I'm still not sure if this would be adequate. I know I wont know until I try it, but I'm not sure how the ideal set-up will look. I've read the Reef Invertebraes book several times, but still have trouble invisioning it. Will all stagnant gracillaria perish or just not thrive if not in constant movement? And at what point is detrius accumulation too much on a deep sand bed? What should I look for to know there is too much? I know the sand needs to be stirred, I have alot pods and mini stars that came with chaeto, but should I add some Nassarius snails to keep the sand bed stirred and detrius low? thanks
