With all of the crazy new trends, hot gear, and even hubris, surrounding some of the new "methodologies" swirling around the hobby lately, it seems as though some of the things that were super influential and darned near state of the art are sort of dated and...well, charming. Just fallen by the wayside on the quest for the "next big thing"...Or so it seems...
Case in point, the application of a refugium in your system.
"Old school", or state of the art..and does it matter? It just works.
It seemed like there was a time not all that long ago, when the idea of a ‘fuge was bleeding-edge hot; you were totally in the cool kids camp if you had one on your reef system. Well, that was in 2002. Then, interestingly, there seems to have been a bit of a gradual cooling in the refugium love affair during the last decade. Suddenly, you hear very little about them, as the benefits seem to have been lost in the quest for something sexier, cooler, and more aggressive…stuff like “Ultra Low Nutrient” systems (yeah, you're hearing me vomit when I hear that term), “Reduced Ecology Reefing”, etc. seemed to have made the idea of a refugium an outmoded one.
In today's tech-driven, twitter-fed, forum-fueled, trend-enabled hobby environment, is there still merit to ideas that, although seemingly "outmoded", never really were bad in the first place?
Of course, and the refugium is just one of those things...
Granted, the benefits of a refugium are things like extra nutrient export, bodiversity, additional water volume, and, to a lesser extent, the supplemental production of food for your reef system, all of which can be conducted with lots of gadgets and sexier, more expensive equipment. However, it seems kind of, well- arrogant on the part of **** sapiens that we can "out hustle" nature, and do a better job than she can in this area by using gadgets and stuff. The fact is, you're far better off, in most circumstances, letting nature do what she's done well for millions of years, and "take" the benefits being offered. Regardless, it seems that the perceived benefits are of lesser interest to many reefers than the far more sexy and aggressive philosophies/techniques above.
The coral diversity in here benefits directly from the biodiversity and nutrient processing "in there..."
"Ohmigod, Fellman is going into one of those rants, yearning for a gentler, kinder hobby again..." No, not really..I'm just trying to point out that the concept of a refugium is not only still valid, but every bit as useful and cutting edge cool as it was when the concept first blossomed in the hobby years ago!
Is the refugium an archaic concept, destined to fall by the wayside as did the plenum?
Nah, I think not. The refugium seems to have more relevance than ever.
A refugium gives today’s “minimalist” reefer who likes limited biodiversity in his display aquarium the ability to have a tremendous, if not unseen- “supporting cast” of macro and micro life forms, including plants/macroalgae, crustaceans, worms, etc., all of which literally enrich the closed aquarium system with numerous benefits. Sure, detractors might make the suggestion that the extra biodiversity is really "bioload", or detracts from the prime focus of a reef aquarium for many people, that being to grow coral. I beg to differ, because production of natural food sources, nutrient processing, and biodiversity create a more "natural" system, less susceptible to the potential failings of near sterile, technology-driven systems with little "backup", and, in my opinion, reduce reliance on technological "props" and potential failure points.
How can you argue with the benefits of steady production of supplemental natural foods?
Ask my man, Melev to design a "fugue into your next sump.
I remember the most common benefit being attributed to the refugium a few years back was the ability to apply wickedly obscene water movement in the display aquarium, which ran bare bottom, without sand flying all over, while being able to take advantage of the benefits of a sandbed in the system. I think that this and many other benefits are still there, and quite applicable. In fact, the refugium is more relevant than ever as we approach the dawn of another revolutionary approach to reef keeping, the “Triton Method”, which, as we will hear much more about in coming months, espouses detailed understanding of the chemical composition of your water, and supplementing trace elements as your systems' needs dictate, to avoid adding vague amounts of random additives without cause. The method tends to favor more minimal water changes, in favor of very effective nutrient export and tightly targeted trace element replenishment. The "test, then tweak" approach on a whole different level. Much more to it than that, but very, very cutting edge, yet undeniably simple. And the underlying simple benefits of a refugium will become more apparent than ever. I think we’ll see the interest in the refugium surge to the forefront yet again.
You'll be seeing a lot more of this in the coming months, believe me. Fabulous reefs, utilizing some new approaches, supported by productive refugia.
The real beauty of the refugium, in my opinion, besides the obvious benefits, like supplemental food production- is that it simply embraces natural processes, and reduces reliance on potentially failure-prone technology and minimizes the shortfalls of some of the more aggressive approaches to aquarium husbandry. Of course, being virtually a separate aquarium in and of itself, the refugium offers yet another advantage to an aquarium it supports- additional water volume for the system . And, as we know, greater water volume translates into greater overall stability in a well-managed system.
In my opinion, this is not just resurrecting an old friend- it's utilizing correct and useful technique to achieve what we all want- a healthy, thriving reef system.
All of this, of course, begs the question...Who is using a refugium, what type of animals does it contain, and do you perceive significant benefits to your reef in its current application?
Food for thought on a Monday.
Stay engaged, stay on top of things..and Stay wet.
Regards,
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Case in point, the application of a refugium in your system.
"Old school", or state of the art..and does it matter? It just works.
It seemed like there was a time not all that long ago, when the idea of a ‘fuge was bleeding-edge hot; you were totally in the cool kids camp if you had one on your reef system. Well, that was in 2002. Then, interestingly, there seems to have been a bit of a gradual cooling in the refugium love affair during the last decade. Suddenly, you hear very little about them, as the benefits seem to have been lost in the quest for something sexier, cooler, and more aggressive…stuff like “Ultra Low Nutrient” systems (yeah, you're hearing me vomit when I hear that term), “Reduced Ecology Reefing”, etc. seemed to have made the idea of a refugium an outmoded one.
In today's tech-driven, twitter-fed, forum-fueled, trend-enabled hobby environment, is there still merit to ideas that, although seemingly "outmoded", never really were bad in the first place?
Of course, and the refugium is just one of those things...
Granted, the benefits of a refugium are things like extra nutrient export, bodiversity, additional water volume, and, to a lesser extent, the supplemental production of food for your reef system, all of which can be conducted with lots of gadgets and sexier, more expensive equipment. However, it seems kind of, well- arrogant on the part of **** sapiens that we can "out hustle" nature, and do a better job than she can in this area by using gadgets and stuff. The fact is, you're far better off, in most circumstances, letting nature do what she's done well for millions of years, and "take" the benefits being offered. Regardless, it seems that the perceived benefits are of lesser interest to many reefers than the far more sexy and aggressive philosophies/techniques above.
The coral diversity in here benefits directly from the biodiversity and nutrient processing "in there..."
"Ohmigod, Fellman is going into one of those rants, yearning for a gentler, kinder hobby again..." No, not really..I'm just trying to point out that the concept of a refugium is not only still valid, but every bit as useful and cutting edge cool as it was when the concept first blossomed in the hobby years ago!
Is the refugium an archaic concept, destined to fall by the wayside as did the plenum?
Nah, I think not. The refugium seems to have more relevance than ever.
A refugium gives today’s “minimalist” reefer who likes limited biodiversity in his display aquarium the ability to have a tremendous, if not unseen- “supporting cast” of macro and micro life forms, including plants/macroalgae, crustaceans, worms, etc., all of which literally enrich the closed aquarium system with numerous benefits. Sure, detractors might make the suggestion that the extra biodiversity is really "bioload", or detracts from the prime focus of a reef aquarium for many people, that being to grow coral. I beg to differ, because production of natural food sources, nutrient processing, and biodiversity create a more "natural" system, less susceptible to the potential failings of near sterile, technology-driven systems with little "backup", and, in my opinion, reduce reliance on technological "props" and potential failure points.
How can you argue with the benefits of steady production of supplemental natural foods?
Ask my man, Melev to design a "fugue into your next sump.
I remember the most common benefit being attributed to the refugium a few years back was the ability to apply wickedly obscene water movement in the display aquarium, which ran bare bottom, without sand flying all over, while being able to take advantage of the benefits of a sandbed in the system. I think that this and many other benefits are still there, and quite applicable. In fact, the refugium is more relevant than ever as we approach the dawn of another revolutionary approach to reef keeping, the “Triton Method”, which, as we will hear much more about in coming months, espouses detailed understanding of the chemical composition of your water, and supplementing trace elements as your systems' needs dictate, to avoid adding vague amounts of random additives without cause. The method tends to favor more minimal water changes, in favor of very effective nutrient export and tightly targeted trace element replenishment. The "test, then tweak" approach on a whole different level. Much more to it than that, but very, very cutting edge, yet undeniably simple. And the underlying simple benefits of a refugium will become more apparent than ever. I think we’ll see the interest in the refugium surge to the forefront yet again.
You'll be seeing a lot more of this in the coming months, believe me. Fabulous reefs, utilizing some new approaches, supported by productive refugia.
The real beauty of the refugium, in my opinion, besides the obvious benefits, like supplemental food production- is that it simply embraces natural processes, and reduces reliance on potentially failure-prone technology and minimizes the shortfalls of some of the more aggressive approaches to aquarium husbandry. Of course, being virtually a separate aquarium in and of itself, the refugium offers yet another advantage to an aquarium it supports- additional water volume for the system . And, as we know, greater water volume translates into greater overall stability in a well-managed system.
In my opinion, this is not just resurrecting an old friend- it's utilizing correct and useful technique to achieve what we all want- a healthy, thriving reef system.
All of this, of course, begs the question...Who is using a refugium, what type of animals does it contain, and do you perceive significant benefits to your reef in its current application?
Food for thought on a Monday.
Stay engaged, stay on top of things..and Stay wet.
Regards,
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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