LF ideas for my 135 gal refugium

luxauterna · Jul 31, 2014

Hey everyone,

So I have been going back and forth with how to theme or stock my 135 gal fuge that is hooked up to my 75 DT. I am thinking about leaning towards some fish I have never kept before due to the risk they pose to corals. Some of those I have been thinking about mainly have been some butterflies. The 135 wouldn't be big enough for the angels. ALSO, the other idea to go with that would be to have a large number of different kinds of inverts. Some cool crabs, starfish, urchins, etc. Anyone have any ideas!?

Thanks

mcarroll · Jul 31, 2014

Not sure I follow putting butterflyfish (any predator, really) into something you want to be a refugium. What kind of refugium?

-Matt

luxauterna · Aug 1, 2014

Well I suppose using the term refugium wouldn't be the most accurate. The idea of the tank is to house a large number of macros to help with nutrient export. Then I thought I could also stock it with some interesting things.

luxauterna · Aug 1, 2014

Essentially I was just plumbing in a large addition of water volume to help with stability and planned to house a lot more live rock and macros. Then I thought I could also add a few fish and some inverts to make it a little more interesting as well.

fishroomlady · Aug 1, 2014

if I had a bigger refugium, I would put in a pair of cardinals and see if they breed (with lots of hiding spots for babies). I would think about what fish you'd like to keep that you can't because of corals and go with that. I thought many butterflies are reef safe, no? or just the size of the refugium would allow for the butterflies? In terms of inverts, there are some really cool crabs that aren't reef safe, I really like that idea in addition to maybe some starfish. Most urchins can be kept in reefs.

luxauterna · Aug 1, 2014

fishroomlady said:
if I had a bigger refugium, I would put in a pair of cardinals and see if they breed (with lots of hiding spots for babies). I would think about what fish you'd like to keep that you can't because of corals and go with that. I thought many butterflies are reef safe, no? or just the size of the refugium would allow for the butterflies? In terms of inverts, there are some really cool crabs that aren't reef safe, I really like that idea in addition to maybe some starfish. Most urchins can be kept in reefs.

I've heard it can be hit or miss with butterflies when it comes to picking at certain corals. I do like the idea of having like three heniochus with a whole bunch of different starfish and crabs. I know most urchins are good to go, but it might be a nice addition. I too like the idea of having stuff I've never had before due to always have coral. Some of the other ideas have been doing a puffer or other larger fish. The idea of trying to get some fish to breed is very cool!

footballdude2k3 · Aug 2, 2014

I would put some mandarins in there, gorgeous fish that do very well in a refugium

mcarroll · Aug 2, 2014

The idea behind the word refugium is "refuge"....which is supposed to indicate refuge from predators...fish, corals, inverts, et al.

The idea being to give your system a whole new ecosystem for DIFFERENT critters to flourish.....pods are what you hear people mention, but there will be all sorts of critters if you take care...including lots of worms, sponges, etc.

All these critters reproducing should creat a nice source of plankton for the OTHER tank WITH all the predators.

I would suggest for clarity in design that you're setting up a macro algae display - maybe a FOWLER - vs a refugium.

I suspect it will make sense to think of this tank differently too since flow and many other features would be a lot different in a refugium vs a display tank like this.

Whatever you call it - good luck!

-Matt

P.S. Take a look at Klein's Butterflyfish. Heniochus are nice, but I've had better experience with these guys - even in a reef. They're some of the best schoolers I've seen.