Pipe fish in 55 gallon display refugium

[Samsquanch]

Howdy y'all

I'm setting up a 55 gallon display refugium for my 125 reef. It's going to have a 5" - 6" sand bed with minimal rock rock with the tank primary being dominated by sea grass and macro algae.

I've been having a hard time deciding on what live stock to put in there. Originally I was planning to put sea horses in there but after doing some reading it's best to kept in cooler water than what's in my reef.

I've thought from garden eels or putting a mantis shrimp or a big hermit crab in there, but im now wondering about putting a school of pipe fish in there.

Im not worried about pods, I have a refugium in my sump and my tank is already exploding with pods. The display refugium is for nutrient export.

It's powered with a 550 gph pump with 2 adjustable powerheads, the plan is have more of a wave flow in there vs the turbulent reef.

What do you guys think about pipe fish or if I should do something different. If pipe fish, how many would be happy together. Should I change anything with the build to better accommodate them?

Inspirational pictures

 

[KingTideCorals]

Howdy y'all

I'm setting up a 55 gallon display refugium for my 125 reef. It's going to have a 5" - 6" sand bed with minimal rock rock with the tank primary being dominated by sea grass and macro algae.

I've been having a hard time deciding on what live stock to put in there. Originally I was planning to put sea horses in there but after doing some reading it's best to kept in cooler water than what's in my reef.

I've thought from garden eels or putting a mantis shrimp or a big hermit crab in there, but im now wondering about putting a school of pipe fish in there.

Im not worried about pods, I have a refugium in my sump and my tank is already exploding with pods. The display refugium is for nutrient export.

It's powered with a 550 gph pump with 2 adjustable powerheads, the plan is have more of a wave flow in there vs the turbulent reef.

What do you guys think about pipe fish or if I should do something different. If pipe fish, how many would be happy together. Should I change anything with the build to better accommodate them?

Inspirational pictures

Love this concept! I am a huge fan of macroalgae systems, not just being display refugiums but the actual display!

A display refugium is nice though, and I like your idea! In my opinion I would go with two pairs of pipe fish or maybe a pair of pipefish and a pair of mandarins! Some type of fish that will really enjoy the slow pace and the surplus of pods, but I think not overstocking that tank will be key!

Loving the concept though, and looking forward to seeing this progress! Get a build thread going for this too!

 

[Samsquanch]

Love this concept! I am a huge fan of macroalgae systems, not just being display refugiums but the actual display!

A display refugium is nice though, and I like your idea! In my opinion I would go with two pairs of pipe fish or maybe a pair of pipefish and a pair of mandarins! Some type of fish that will really enjoy the slow pace and the surplus of pods, but I think not overstocking that tank will be key!

Loving the concept though, and looking forward to seeing this progress! Get a build thread going for this too!

Thanks for the kind words and the input. I've definitely fallen in love with the macro algae / marine plant tanks coming from a background in planted freshwater aquariums. I really like the idea of a pipefish pair and a pair of mandarins. I've been adding to my 125 reef build tread but maybe I will have to put another build tread together for the display refugium.