Refugium

[JodiM]

I currently have a 36 gallon bow front with a 10 gallon sump set up.
I do have issue with getting my Nitrates down and keeping them down. They have been running between 20-40ppm.

So here's my question, is it or would be a be a good idea to set up a refugium either in my sump tank or maybe attach one to the inside of my main tank some how?

Besides the nitrate issue, I think it would be a neat addition to the setup and give me a chance to have other things without crowding my main tank.

Any suggestions? Input?

TIA!

 

[nmotz]

I have a small hang on back refugium that I use to keep some marinpure spheres and a bag of GFO (for phosphate control). Macroalgae refugiums can certainly help with nitrate reduction. At this point it depends on what kind of space you have available in your sump. If you don't have enough space there, you can try an HOB refugium. Some people don't like the look of any clutter on the tank, but if you don't mind that then you're good to go.

I bought the 1 gallon model made by Finnex and it worked pretty well. Cost about $30 i think. I once grew chaetomorpha in it and had a small mantis shrimp living there but I sold him and took out the chaeto shortly afterwards.

 

[Lsufan]

I don't think u have a sump big enough to make a fuge section & I don't think a hang on back fuge will help much at lowering your nutrients . To have a fuge big enough u would have to setup a seperate 20 gallon or so tank as a remote refugium. If u can't add a remote refugium I would look into either a algae scrubber or a remote deep sand bed which u could do with a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I don't think u have a sump big enough to make a fuge section & I don't think a hang on back fuge will help much at lowering your nutrients . To have a fuge big enough u would have to setup a seperate 20 gallon or so tank as a remote refugium. If u can't add a remote refugium I would look into either a algae scrubber or a remote deep sand bed which u could do with a 5 gallon bucket.

+1

Set one up and have fun with it, but don't expect it to have a big effect on nitrates. I had a DSB in the past and I'm not sure it's really worth the effort either. What is your water change regime? Also, is there a chance you may be over feeding? Do you run a skimmer?

 

[TheFishGuy31]

How much real estate to do you have in the 10g?

Throw some cheato into the sump & use some eggcrate to keep it from getting sucked into your return pump. Throw a small red LED over it & I think you'd be in business.