Need Help Creating refugium in C Vue

[ScottyD36]

I have a C VUE 40 gallon tank and my back chambers are pretty bare. I have a intake media basket with filter floss, chemi pure elite and a phosphate remover. Then next to it in the photo I have Bio Spheres. I am going to move the biospheres over to middle chamber but wanted to see what I would need in order to make a mini little Refugium. The space is 5x5. This would be my first attempt at refgium so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[blaxsun]

Where exactly is this "bare" space?

 

[oceanleaf]

I have the same tank, and I also use the back chambers for refugium.
You can look at the details in my build thread.

My recommendation for you is to get a waterproof refugium LED (e.g. this one) and then position it vertically so that the light spread throughout the chamber. I think that should be all you need for this simple setup.
One problem I have is that light would spill into nearby chambers, and algae would grow in them. I just have to scrape algae off once in a while.

 

[ScottyD36]

Where exactly is this "bare" space?

Its right next to the Intake media Basket.

 

[ScottyD36]

I have the same tank, and I also use the back chambers for refugium.
You can look at the details in my build thread.

My recommendation for you is to get a waterproof refugium LED (e.g. this one) and then position it vertically so that the light spread throughout the chamber. I think that should be all you need for this simple setup.
One problem I have is that light would spill into nearby chambers, and algae would grow in them. I just have to scrape algae off once in a while.

Thanks. That is kinda what I was going for. Was curious if I needed to have water tumbling the macro algae.

 

[oceanleaf]

Thanks. That is kinda what I was going for. Was curious if I needed to have water tumbling the macro algae.

It's much better to tumble the macroalgae so that it gets light from all sides, but it is also not a requirement for a successful refugium. I don't tumble mine, and it seems to work well so far. You might need to keep the density relatively low such that the side that does not receive direct light still receives sufficient light to survive (though probably not thrive). The side that receives direct light will be the one that grows fast and performs nutrient export for you. Overall efficiency will be lower than if you tumble, but that's what we have to work with the limited space of AIO aquariums.

Alternatively, if cost permitted, you can just add extra lights on the opposite side. Or you can manually tumble them once in a while, though I think that's a hassle.