Refugium advice appreciated

[BxstardXI]

Man I love this website, ya alls help is awesome. I dont feel embarrassed here to ask questions on new areas, so thanks guys!


So this is my refugium, it works good but its cleary not the best. I clean it everytime I see dirty debris showing up and rinse the filtration stones (at the bottom not the white things on the top) once a month but I feel like I can definitely improve it

I got some old dead rock I had laying around, soaked it in vinegar for maybe 1 or 2 hours, hosed/rinsed it and used a toothbrush to clean most of the debris/dead dried up algea and its drying at this moment. Want to give it another rinse but with saltwater tomorrow

Now my tank has been going for a couple of years, how on earth do I cure the rock so I can safely add it to the sump? Cuz I never done this before. The middle space I made a sort off wall sort to seperate it from the skimmer as I want to grow seaweed there. Hence why I need the rocks and well its double filtration and place for more bacteria. Is this a good idea?? If not please tell me how you would do it, I just know I can filter it better but I dont know how.

Any advice is appreciated! Recommendations for filter material aswell. also what seaweed would you use?? Safe for fish to nibble on when it grows bigger ofcourse, saves me a bunch of Nori haha

Thanks in advance!

 

[C_AWOL]

If you leave the dead rock in any container with circulating/aerated water for a bit then any organic material remaining will break down over time. Using saltwater for this isn't mandatory and a bleach/acid soak (outside!) will greatly expedite this (air dry thoroughly after and exercise all safety measures!)

I personally prefer my refugium to be as barebones as possible to run a lot of flow (thus less cleaning)

As far as what seaweeds you can grow, ulva generally is the easiest due to temperature flexibility but if your tanks run consistently <76f then ogo will work too

 

[BxstardXI]

If you leave the dead rock in any container with circulating/aerated water for a bit then any organic material remaining will break down over time. Using saltwater for this isn't mandatory and a bleach/acid soak (outside!) will greatly expedite this (air dry thoroughly after and exercise all safety measures!)

I personally prefer my refugium to be as barebones as possible to run a lot of flow (thus less cleaning)

As far as what seaweeds you can grow, ulva generally is the easiest due to temperature flexibility but if your tanks run consistently <76f then ogo will work too

Got it, thank you and will do! Around how many days would you suggest I let it run before I can add it to the tank??

Won't it heavily disturb the cycle tho?? That's mostly one of my my main concerns (talking about maybe just about 2KG of rock, I have over 85+KG in the tank itself)

Im terrified of using bleach if it involves my tank, so thats definitely a no go xd

And noted, the heat is consistent so I'll definitely check for ogo tomorrow when im going to the store^-^

Thanks a bunchhh!

 

[C_AWOL]

Plain Bleach is "safe" so long as you let the rock dry out completely after.

As far as how long depends on the method, but assuming it's just circulating water and possibly some heating then whenever your tested ammonia and nitrites zero out after 24+ hrs in the holding container (nitrites aren't an issue but this hobby is generally best handled in a slower manner imo)

Adding what should be decaying organic material free rock after won't affect your cycle in the least in regards to ammonia>nitrite>nitrate but any bound phosphates will leach out to equilibrium with your tank (less of an issue with acid curing (once again exercise all safety precautions!))

The only thing besides that would be a likely ugly phase on said rock being free real estate for various things to grow on for a period but that will subside over time.

 

[BxstardXI]

Ohh thats definitely some info I needed!

I'll let the rock sit in a bucket with flow, heating and test it after 24h for Amonia and nitrite.

phosphates stuck in the rock is most likely present seeing how the algea state of it was, would it be a good approach to leave the rocks in the bucket for a week and refresh the half every 2 days?
(So eventually less phos leaches out the rock when I add it to the sump than when I add it after lets say 48hours instead, correct me if im wrong pls)

I wouldnt mind if gets a ugly phase, its out of sight anyways:3

Thank youuu

 

[C_AWOL]

The phosphates in the holding container will come to an equilibrium with the rock (meaning no more phosphate can come out until the phosphate in the water is reduced.)
If you're doing a large batch, it wouldn't hurt to consider using lanthanum (please research before using)

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Cheatomorpha or caulerpa are the most used. I’ve had good success with Valonia

 

[dangles]

I’ve been using Pom Pom gracilaria. I love it. So does my fox face! It’s easier to keep clean, and does just fine with nutrient uptake. And it’s not boring like chaeto lol.

 

[BxstardXI]

The phosphates in the holding container will come to an equilibrium with the rock (meaning no more phosphate can come out until the phosphate in the water is reduced.)
If you're doing a large batch, it wouldn't hurt to consider using lanthanum (please research before using)

Okay so daily water change it is then. I do have phosguard, those granules that aborb/filter phosphate out (not sure if im using the right words)

lanthanum im not sure I'll be able to buy here, but I'll be on the look out and investigate about it in the meantime. Havent heard of that product before.

Its not really a large batch, just a slighty big hand sized rock and smaller pieces thats broken off from others. I dont think there will be too much from the others, just the big one. But I'll definitely test the water its been in before adding the rocks to the tank, as you said before better to give it time and move in a slow manner

Thank you so much again, really appreciate it

 

[BxstardXI]

I’ve been using Pom Pom gracilaria. I love it. So does my fox face! It’s easier to keep clean, and does just fine with nutrient uptake. And it’s not boring like chaeto lol.

I’ve been using Pom Pom gracilaria. I love it. So does my fox face! It’s easier to keep clean, and does just fine with nutrient uptake. And it’s

I’ve been using Pom Pom gracilaria. I love it. So does my fox face! It’s easier to keep clean, and does just fine with nutrient uptake. And it’s not boring like chaeto lol.

Ohh that does seem intriguing, how fast does it grow?? Did it show good difference in your water quality after you added it?

if a foxface likes it then my spinefoot will absolutely too

Thank you for the recommendation!^-^

 

[dangles]

Ohh that does seem intriguing, how fast does it grow?? Did it show good difference in your water quality after you added it?

if a foxface likes it then my spinefoot will absolutely too

Thank you for the recommendation!^-^

I’m not sure how to quantify the growth speed but I pull a few pieces out every week or so. Your light schedule and nutrient levels will determine how fast it grows. I have started adding ChaetoGro and it’s been growing more quickly lately.

Another thing I really like about it is that you don’t get a bunch of little stray pieces all over like with chaeto. There are some of course but they’re much easier to manage. When I used chaeto I had little pieces come off all over. Especially when I pulled it out to rinse it and put it back. Chaeto grows in a ton of little strands that tend to break off. Gracilaria grows in nice baseball sized clumps. Way easier to manage!

At the end of the day, both will consume nutrients and provide habitat for microfauna. Lots of people use chaeto very successfully. I just like some of the features of gracilaria better