refugium and pods

[TopClamSkoo]

Hey Ya'll

Never done a refugium before but I really am considering now. In the past, Ive never had issues with hair algae, bubble algae, dinos, or cyanobacteria, etc. in my 4 inch deep sand bed sps dominant 80 gallon. The only other issues I had in the past was cyanobacteria in my nano 10 gallon, but that only lasted about 2 months and went away. My most recent tank that I shut down about few years ago... I had major Dinos and was plagued with it the whole time! I dont want to deal with that again even though I probably will deal with it again. LOL!

I just setup a 10 gallon nano with real live rock from Australia and im just cycling it thru now and not gonna put anything in until the 3rd month mark.

I saw a video on youtube that brs put out and Ryan talked much about having a refugium and growing pods that can help eliminate dinos. If i'm not wrong... what I got from that video was pods eat dinos and will keep it at bay.. however, my 10 gallon nano only has a 1/3 gallon section in the back where I can setup a refugium to grow chaeto... but don't you need about 10% of volume of space/water in order for a refgium to be effective per Julian S?

Would it be a waste of time to setup that small small area in my AIO to setup chaeto. Im no looking to setup a refugium to help with nutrients but rather I want to grow pods..

Any thoughts?

Here is the BRS video:

thanks fellas!

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

If you aren't going for nutrient control, using smaller live rock chunks back there will give them a place to live, and breed without predation.

I don't know the requirement to be effective from that talk, But I think having a robust population is good for a lot of parts of the tank, Not just Dinos.

 

[TopClamSkoo]

Gotcha gotcha.
I can def leave couple pieces of rubble in the filter for them to thrive! Never thought about just focusing on that and skipping the chaeto!

Thank you!

 

[vinvinaa]

If you aren't going for nutrient control, using smaller live rock chunks back there will give them a place to live, and breed without predation.

I don't know the requirement to be effective from that talk, But I think having a robust population is good for a lot of parts of the tank, Not just Dinos.

Would it be possible to put few live rock in the same partition with skimmer in the sump work at all? Will pods grow in the sump?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Would it be possible to put few live rock in the same partition with skimmer in the sump work at all? Will pods grow in the sump?

Yes they will. Having live rock in the same compartment with your skimmer. Will give them something to breed in. Just know that some free floaters will get pulled into your skimmer intake.

 

[vinvinaa]

Yes they will. Having live rock in the same compartment with your skimmer. Will give them something to breed in. Just know that some free floaters will get pulled into your skimmer intake.

Any suggestion how to prevent the pods being pulled into the skimmer intake? Also, should I need a light source with timer under the sump? I saw someone throwing some chaeto into a basket which is hanged in the sump. Does it work as well?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Any suggestion how to prevent the pods being pulled into the skimmer intake? Also, should I need a light source with timer under the sump? I saw someone throwing some chaeto into a basket which is hanged in the sump. Does it work as well?

Pods just need a place without predators, to breed. That's pretty much the end of the Needs. Adding algae to your refugium is there not only as a housing for pods but also to bring down nutrients. If you don't need the nutrient control, live rock is a great way to fill that space with something meaningful. Pods will breed anywhere.