Refugium are they worth it?

[Redbird5]

I have been in a major battle with phosphates leaching out of my rock this year. I have a 45g JBJ AIO and I have about 50 pounds of rock, at least, in there. I currently have six tablespoons of GFO in the aquarium because my phosphates were .53 on Monday. Last week they were .29. It's been a roller coaster over the last six months. My goal is to get the phosphates stabilized and I have a two prong assault planned. First get the phosphates down with GFO and stabilized and possibly use a back chamber of my AIO as a refugium with chaeto.
I've heard of refugiums but not fully researched them until today. My understanding is I need chaeto algae a light to feed it and remove the algae once a month or so to remove the phosphates it collects. It would be about $100 project, but I want to do more research on it before I buy anything and I also want to let the GFO work. Is the refugium worth it? I know the problem. The rocks is leaching phosphates into the water column. GFO does a great job of removing it but it drops it too low then I remove it and the phosphates skyrocket. I feed half a cube twice a day, I feed either reef roids or gonipower once a week and plankton once a week. DKH, Calc, MG, salinity are stable.

 

[Saltyreef]

I have been in a major battle with phosphates leaching out of my rock this year. I have a 45g JBJ AIO and I have about 50 pounds of rock, at least, in there. I currently have six tablespoons of GFO in the aquarium because my phosphates were .53 on Monday. Last week they were .29. It's been a roller coaster over the last six months. My goal is to get the phosphates stabilized and I have a two prong assault planned. First get the phosphates down with GFO and stabilized and possibly use a back chamber of my AIO as a refugium with chaeto.
I've heard of refugiums but not fully researched them until today. My understanding is I need chaeto algae a light to feed it and remove the algae once a month or so to remove the phosphates it collects. It would be about $100 project, but I want to do more research on it before I buy anything and I also want to let the GFO work. Is the refugium worth it? I know the problem. The rocks is leaching phosphates into the water column. GFO does a great job of removing it but it drops it too low then I remove it and the phosphates skyrocket. I feed half a cube twice a day, I feed either reef roids or gonipower once a week and plankton once a week. DKH, Calc, MG, salinity are stable.

You can adjust the amount of GFO you are using if your phosphates are dropping too low. .29 is still pretty darn high though.
I would implement the use of a refugium after your phosphates stabilize with the use of GFO. I like a chaeto refugium in the rear chamber for the simple fact of a pod home away from my pod hunters in the tank.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

I had a refugium in my sump but removed it, nutrients were bottoming out as the tank aged. I stuck to a regular scheduled water change routine to help manage the nutrient levels.

 

[mfinn]

Refugium's are one tool to deal with those issues. I'm not sure the space you have is actually big enough to make a difference or not. I have not used a AIO.
There are several products like cheato reactors in different styles. Maybe more research into them might be an option. Some get kind of spendy.

 

[Rob A]

Algae scrubber FTW.

 

[Redbird5]

You can adjust the amount of GFO you are using if your phosphates are dropping too low. .29 is still pretty darn high though.
I would implement the use of a refugium after your phosphates stabilize with the use of GFO. I like a chaeto refugium in the rear chamber for the simple fact of a pod home away from my pod hunters in the tank.

It goes up and down almost every time I test it. Last week it was .29 so I lowered the amount of GFO I used and then it shot up again so I added more this week. This week is water change week and more than like the phosphates will drop between the GFO and water change. I'm hoping to find a medium where everything is stable.

 

[mpatterson42]

I love chaeto. It does a great job of keeping nitrates and phosphates in check. I have a refugium chamber in my 20 gallon sump for my 40 gallon tank, I have a media basket in my 20 gallon all in one with chaeto, I scraped off the black backing and put a light back there, and I just set up a chaeto reactor on my 180 gallon.

 

[BryanM]

An ATS would be better in your situation, I'm not sure you can run a big enough fuge.

But my reality is GFO is your best option.

And/or to look at corals and let them tell you if it is an issue.

My tank has gone from 1+, down to .1, thought it was stable at .31, and is now at .72 again. Corals all look happy and there are a ton of beautiful dirty tanks in our hobby.

 

[Euphyllia098]

Other than the number being high are you experiencing any issues?

 

[LPS Bum]

Not a fan of refugiums. They can certainly work for nutrient export, but they create a real mess in your sump and the algae is never truly contained there. I prefer a roller mat and a good skimmer, paired with regular water changes.