I am ready to start my 55g, I have lights pumps, skimmer, wave maker etc. My problem is I do not get the concept of a refugeum. Nor how it works. I bought a 10 gal for a refugeum. and know it has to be partitioned off. I have studied it online and just don't get how it will be plumbed or set up. And back flow, flooding etc worries me. I know the tank cannot be drilled. Therefor, it has to go from under the tank to over the tank. Any info would be great! I am however a visual learner. So words without diagrams are a waste of time for us both. Thank as always Terrie
I am going to put this in my language so anyone that wants to interject please feel free. Your refugium is just a habitat to grow pods and hold whatever you desire to assist your tank, the refugium does not need partitioned, unless you are building your refugium into your sump. Then you are only sectioning off a part of your sump for that purpose. The refugium usually contains sand, some rock, and chaeto; each of which has a specific purpose. Example, in mine I use a deep sand bed that I don't use in my tank, I have some rock to break the flow of the water and since your live rock is your filter it's just additional filter capacity, and I have chaeto, mangrove, and any other plantlife I can maintain for pod growth and water chemistry. If you are building it in the sump just think of it as your building a tank within the tank and it needs a low volume of water flow. I simply use another tank within my sump to serve as the refugium, its plumbed for water flow and I drill them and add a strainer to keep it contained. Your welcome to stop by and see mine, I will be out of town till next Tuesday. You can google and get many diagrams. There are as many designs as reefkeepers. Hope this helps
Fuges when ran on reverse lighting cycle from your display tank can help stabilize pH. Id recommend a hang on back fuge as they flow directly back into tank, therefore pods are not shredded up in the upflow pump. I've purchased all of mine used for less than $100. Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
The fuge will also help with water quality as the nitrates created by fish waste can be consumed by macro algaes like chaeto. Nitrates are fertilizer for plants. Chaeto grows in a ball. When it grows too big, simply cut it back down to original size and it will regrow and hence continue to remove nitrates. As I mentioned earlier as well Fuges will help stabilize pH because light help plants and coral grow through photosynthesis. That process will increase pH. So at night pH drops. If you run your light on the fuge at different time than your display tank, photosynthesis still occurs and pH doesn't drop as much at night. I have three tanks and have a fuge on all of them because of the benefits. I wouldnt run a reef tank without them. Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
No, there is more to it; a refugium will dramatically lower nitrate and phosphate levels of the water, mainly due to the chaeto. A deep sand bed will also provide a place for beneficial worms and other sifters, I use one of the "muds" in mine along with the sand and rock. I am guessing you could get by without one if you could maintain your water chemistry, but I think there is a huge advantage of having a thriving refugium, you can really look at fuge and see if they have a healty tank.
This is exactly the purpose of this forum, never hesitate to ask a question or to gain understanding. A few questions upfront may be the difference from you having a successful tank and you leaving the hobby.
Thank y'all so much! So my next question is..... Where would the skimmer go in the mixture? I have seen them in many fuges. My thought is... Different compartments in fuge. Yuck comes out of the tank, goes through the skimmer and is cleaned. Released into a compartment then moves on to the next and so on until it is returned to the tank clean.
Skimmer goes in the sump as far away from the return as possible, so water entering the sump passes through a filter sock then some goes thought the skimmer then returned to tank.
Alright since we're talking refugium's I have a question. I have a 24 gallon aio and I'm using an inTank media basket in the middle chamber. Is there any advantage to having cheato in one of the shelves. I didn't know if it would even be enough to be beneficial.
