Can a Refugium be run ALL the time?

[Reeferbadness]

I have 2 tanks each with refugiums (180g and 200g) My Phos and Nitrates bottomed out a while back so in my case, i harvest about a softball sized chaeto weekly and turned the lights down to just 8 hours. Be careful of what you wish for with refugiums as they can help regulate but can also mess with your balance if they pull too many nutrients out.

 

[RedoubtReef]

I've run mine on 24 hrs for a while with no issues. Currently on 12 hour cycles. I think some of the creatures are nocturnal. Fuge is a good place for critters. At times I think my fuge is more interesting than the DT
Micro brittle star are just one of the cool critters in mine

You want to sell any of those brittle stars??

 

[Reeferbadness]

I have 2 tanks each with refugiums (180g and 200g) My Phos and Nitrates bottomed out a while back so in my case, i harvest about a softball sized chaeto weekly and turned the lights down to just 8 hours. Be careful of what you wish for with refugiums as they can help regulate but can also mess with your balance if they pull too many nutrients out.

 

[shakacuz]

Other than your chaeto growing at a really fast pace (requiring more frequent removal) and possibly sucking up a lot of your nitrates and phosphates, not really.

do you think having more chaeto = more nutrient export due to amount, or less chaeto = mean more nutrient export since it has more room to grow?

 

[blaxsun]

do you think having more chaeto = more nutrient export due to amount, or less chaeto = mean more nutrient export since it has more room to grow?

I think it really depends on the tank, filtration, bio load, etc.

 

[tzabor10]

Have been running full time since the post. CHEATO is growing fast. Pods are happy. It is helping to manage my overfeeding