A Refugium?

[RobTorMar]

Hello!

I'm Still in the process of setting up my new tank and I'm thinking about a refugium next. The problem is that my setup would only allow for a HOB refugium and was wondering if they really are worth it. Most of my research indicates that refugiums are loved by most reefers so they must be good.

I'm also open to ideas of how else I could set up a fuge, I attached pictures of my setup for reference.

Essentially my tank is low to the ground with an FX6 and all my stuff behind the wall.

 

[Theulli]

Are you putting corals in there or FOWLR? Planning any fish that need huge pod populations (ex: Mandarins)?

 

[RobTorMar]

Are you putting corals in there or FOWLR? Planning any fish that need huge pod populations (ex: Mandarins)?

Yes I'm planning to put in some softies and maybe some easy sps. I really want mandarins but that would be a long time from now

 

[Theulli]

The refugium would be a huge help to support a pod population for mandarins, so that's a point for it. However, I don't know how much added value a HOB refugium would be for that use case.

Personally, I do easy corals only, and I don't run a refugium because I prefer to do regular water changes for nutrient export, as I have found that also reliably replenishes nutrients to the point where I don't need to worry about dosing supplements.

 

[RobTorMar]

The refugium would be a huge help to support a pod population for mandarins, so that's a point for it. However, I don't know how much added value a HOB refugium would be for that use case.

Personally, I do easy corals only, and I don't run a refugium because I prefer to do regular water changes for nutrient export, as I have found that also reliably replenishes nutrients to the point where I don't need to worry about dosing supplements.

I do 10 g weekly water changes.... you are saying if I stick with this maintenance I wouldnt not need a fuge?

 

[Theulli]

I think a refugium is a nice thing to have if you aspire to making your tank as close to a closed system as possible. Theoretically your nutrient export is just pulling macro algae out of there when it gets overgrown. I think that if you are able to keep up with water changes and you don’t have anything in the tank that requires hugely stable params it is, in my opinion, overkill. I'd put it in the same class as protein skimmers, in terms of things that people swear by, that definitely have advantages, but are not a 'requirement' for a successful tank.

 

[99problemsandatankisone]

I think HOB is high risk. If I were you I’d look for an in tank fuge. I forgot who makes it but there is a refugium that goes inside the tank and looks like an overflow that would be perfect for your use case, it doesn’t require drilling or anything. I also wouldn’t say you need one though. If I can find the one I’m thinking of I’ll post a link