Macro refugium

[Ultraman]

I’m going to add a refugium to my 600 gallon acropora tank. I’ve got a space that is approximately 30”x40-48”. Ive got 100 pounds of Miracle Mud and from there I’m looking for pointers on types of macros that will uptake nutrients and support the corals in the display without poisoning them With noxious chemicals.

Any suggestions on lighting, types of macros, lighting schedules, flow, etc would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Subsea]

I AM SPS clueless as to what noxious chemicals are we talking about with respect to corals that macro contribute too. I understand leather coral chemical warfare between SPS.

What is your goal for your mud/macro refugium?

I operated a 30G EcoSystem mud/macro refugium for 20 years with a 75G Jaubert Plenum on top.

 

[Subsea]

I’m going to add a refugium to my 600 gallon acropora tank. I’ve got a space that is approximately 30”x40-48”. Ive got 100 pounds of Miracle Mud and from there I’m looking for pointers on types of macros that will uptake nutrients and support the corals in the display without poisoning them With noxious chemicals.

Any suggestions on lighting, types of macros, lighting schedules, flow, etc would be appreciated. Thanks!

I looked for a tank thread to better understand your system. I use ornamental & utilitarian seaweeds in every tank I set up. As a generalization, I must add ammonia & ChaetoGrow to keep up with their fast growth.

Different seaweeds are more prone to faster growth rates. Read what John Mahoney says about stocking a refugium. I further suggest you read the articles at his website addressing your other questions.

Stocking a Refugium - Reef Cleaners

A refugium is a safe place in your system. It is usually a tank that is plumbed into your main system where you keep delicate species, or try to grow copepods,

www.reefcleaners.org

Information - Reef Cleaners

A page listing our articles.

www.reefcleaners.org

Russ Kronwetter is diver owner of live plants, research his articles.

Marine Plants In The Aquarium: An online guide to the identification and care of marine plants and macroalgae in the aquarium.

An online guide to the identification and care of marine plants and macroalgae in the aquarium.

www.marineplantbook.com

 

[Spare time]

I’m going to add a refugium to my 600 gallon acropora tank. I’ve got a space that is approximately 30”x40-48”. Ive got 100 pounds of Miracle Mud and from there I’m looking for pointers on types of macros that will uptake nutrients and support the corals in the display without poisoning them With noxious chemicals.

Any suggestions on lighting, types of macros, lighting schedules, flow, etc would be appreciated. Thanks!

Chaetomorpha sp. and Gracilaria sp. tend to be the best options from my experience. Caulerpa grows well, same with ulva, but both can make a mess. Codium is another decent choice.

 

[Spare time]

I keep my light on 24/7 and use the stock light for the fluval evo 13.5 since my ai prime 16hd power brick failed (5 star company; using their lights as advertised melts them. Yay!). I prefer something with a very wide range of spectrum (likely helps when keeping various macroalgaes), and that is not a fire hazard. You also don't want some laser beam that shoots 1000 par out and frying the macroalgae.

 

[Ultraman]

I AM SPS clueless as to what noxious chemicals are we talking about with respect to corals that macro contribute too. I understand leather coral chemical warfare between SPS.

What is your goal for your mud/macro refugium?

I operated a 30G EcoSystem mud/macro refugium for 20 years with a 75G Jaubert Plenum on top.

I’ve had the tank going for 3 or 4 years and it’s been very successful until recently. I have a heavy fish load and consequently nitrate and phosphate levels that are difficult to control. I use a sulfur denitrator and GFO continuously, which help but not enough. I spend $50/month on GFO alone to keep my phosphate less than .2. Nitrate ranges 30-40ppm.

I‘ve had some unexplained STN in my acropora and my Triton kit showed low Strontium, elevated Lithium and Sulfur. My display has some cyano and green algae here and there as well. So, I’m thinking the refugium as a nutrient control and adding some extra biodiversity and the elements in the Miracle Mud that might supply something that’s missing.

The tank has about 500 pounds of real Fiji live rock that I bought right before it was no longer available.

Thank you for your replies and the links!! I’ll get to reading.

 

[Subsea]

Macro algae is a sponge and it will absorb those heavy metals as well as the sulfur.

consider your miracle mud as nutrient recycling the diversity of micro fauna & fana in your mud bed. It is not for nutrient export.

It you want nutrient export, then grow a monoculture of Red Ogo, Gracilaria Parvispora. With intense light at 6500 kelvin, Ogo doubles its mass every 10 days. I grow it for my personal consumption in specialty salads & chevich.

PS. The ratio of N consumption is 30:1 in most macro. If you want to reduce phosphate, then dose ammonia & ChaetoGrow and harvest abundant macro.

 

[Ultraman]

Beautiful displays. Yeah, the MM is just to supplement and support the refugium, give critters a place to crawl.

What type of lights you running? My tank is going to be 30”x40”x16” give or take a few inches. A friend told me he ran Kessil 360x refugium light and actually had better growth with cheap daylight bulbs.

 

[Subsea]

Beautiful displays. Yeah, the MM is just to supplement and support the refugium, give critters a place to crawl.

What type of lights you running? My tank is going to be 30”x40”x16” give or take a few inches. A friend told me he ran Kessil 360x refugium light and actually had better growth with cheap daylight bulbs.

Par 38 lamps at 14W and 6500 Kelvin at < $5 works for me. I buy them by the case on line from Lowes and use damp proof connector at $5. It’s much easier to replace a faulty lamp at $5 instead of printed circuit board failure.

 

[Ultraman]

So, all red Ogo is the best weed for export?

 

[potatocouch]

@Subsea what's your opinion on the grow Hydroponic light 200LED which gives that purple kind of lighting? I am liking the look of just plain white, just like yours but I've always been advised that combination of red and blue (which gives that purple effect) is better?

 

[Ultraman]

 

[Subsea]

@Subsea what's your opinion on the grow Hydroponic light 200LED which gives that purple kind of lighting? I am liking the look of just plain white, just like yours but I've always been advised that combination of red and blue (which gives that purple effect) is better?

White light has every spectrum in the rainbow. While it is true the higher energy spectrum produce visible florescence, I prefer 6500 Kelvin. Better is in the eyes of the beholder.