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Post by Tucker on Apr 15, 2014 9:49:53 GMT -5
As I am in the building research phase I came across an interesting article on refugiums. Basically they called them cesspools. Took me a few days to read through it, and their logic seems sound. My current one has turned into a detritus trap as the bottom is covered in a fine silt. So what are the advantages, if any to it? I can point to the article on thereeftank called reefkeeping made easy as my source. Know that this article on TRT is meant for those looking for a low nutrient system and is designed to make sps coral grow crazy and is not meant for softies that do better in nutrient rich water.
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Post by gotareef on Apr 15, 2014 9:55:21 GMT -5
a refuge is just that a safe place for "bugs" to grow.
like any other part of your filtration it has maintenance needs. if you are getting silt thats good because you can remove it from the system....
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Post by Tucker on Apr 15, 2014 10:04:50 GMT -5
The problem is the removal, remembering to do it, and getting it out of the bottom of the sump that already sits on the floor so siphoning is almost an impossibility.
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Post by gotareef on Apr 15, 2014 10:12:09 GMT -5
small pump suck it out. do you remember to empty your skimmer cup, or change water....  |
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Post by BriMc on Apr 15, 2014 10:15:11 GMT -5
I have to agree with gotareef just like anything else a refugium needs maintenance. Yes it is a pain in the Arse but the benefits outweigh the negatives. Just like anything else in this hobby everybody has their opinion and there are ten ways of doing the same thing to accomplish the same goal. One thing I would do is stay away from reef keeping made easy, they give a lot of short cut advice but they do not give you warnings about different issues you may incur while doing some of their short cuts. Read up on things like advanced reef keeping, or articles that are written by scientists or people who have been doing Reef for a long time, Theil, Randy Holmes, etc.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Apr 15, 2014 10:17:56 GMT -5
I personally get plenty of pods and other bugs growing in my tank without a fuge. I don't like the idea of having to up keep another part of the tank either and personally have chosen to run bio pellets instead for phosphate and nitrate removal.
It's simple and low maintenance. Change it out every 3-6 months. I know a lot of old school people don't like the use of bio pellets, but they have already started to do good things for my tank in the short amount of time I've been running them.
I've found that pods and others alike love just about anything you put in your sump to hide and breed in. I find them nesting everywhere.
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Post by gotareef on Apr 15, 2014 10:45:18 GMT -5
imo- refugems are a must on smaller tanks (under 75g) where you have lots of things that eat pods, mandarins,wrasses,gobies...... it gives you a way to keep the tank loaded with pods, with the benefit of cleaning the water at the same time
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Post by jess on Apr 15, 2014 11:47:18 GMT -5
I think mine are all stuck in my "fuge". I dread cleaning it but I know it's time to. I can see silt on the bottom and need to Shake some of the buggers out of the algae.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using proboards
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Refugium
Apr 15, 2014 11:48:22 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by scoobnoob on Apr 15, 2014 11:48:22 GMT -5
Algae scrubber?  I always wanted to try one. Personally I like fugues with Macro Algae. Its not a matter of right or wrong it'd what you prefer and can manage. There are so many ways to do things each with its own list of pros and cons. I run a macro algae five in my 24 nano and no skimmer. I also do a 20% water change weekly, and siphon out the fuge every other week. I keep everything from zoas to sps (no across though) and I'm content with my return on maintenance. |
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Refugium
Apr 15, 2014 11:50:52 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by scoobnoob on Apr 15, 2014 11:50:52 GMT -5
Also important to note is the size of the fuge relative to the display a 10 gallon won't do anything for a 100 gallon display, however I encourage you to look at some of the outstanding 10-20 gallon displays with 40-75 fuges.
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Post by BriMc on Apr 15, 2014 11:56:40 GMT -5
Any increase in water volume is a good thing and any thing you can do to improve your water quality is a good thing. I think you would be surprised to see the good a 10 gallon fuge would do on a 100 gallon again even if it is just giving pods a place to reproduce.
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Post by jess on Apr 15, 2014 11:59:26 GMT -5
I use cheato or other macros. Growing good, but alot of the pods I think get trapped in the fuge, since it's just a modified filter and I use filter floss in front of the return area so the algae doesn't flow into the tank.
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Apr 15, 2014 12:24:16 GMT -5
I'm the exception the the rule of low flow refugiums lol. High flow, 24 hour lighting, remote deep sand bed and very little silt......hmm tons of pods, yup I got them too. The only thing I hate about in sump refugiums is the added coralline growth on pumps, heaters and so on.
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I always wanted to try one. Personally I like fugues with Macro Algae. Its not a matter of right or wrong it'd what you prefer and can manage. There are so many ways to do things each with its own list of pros and cons. I run a macro algae five in my 24 nano and no skimmer. I also do a 20% water change weekly, and siphon out the fuge every other week. I keep everything from zoas to sps (no across though) and I'm content with my return on maintenance.