Refugium Do’s and Don’ts

[Bouncingsoul39]

Any current best practices for setting up and maintaining a fuge these days? Any life that should be kept out or added specifically besides the macro algae? Happy to hear anyone’s suggestions for setting up a good fuge. Good as in good for nutrient export and good for the overall health of the system.

 

[Montiman]

I was against fuges for a long time. I am old school and had done fuges before but they never seemed to do much at actually reducing nutrients and they became a detritus trap over time. I think there are 4 main things to keep in mind to have an effective fuge.

1. Size
Years ago everyone told me you needed a fuge 50% of the display volume to be effective. Now we have gotten better at making fugues more efficient but I still find the fuge should be at least 10% of the display volume to have a strong effect. If a fuge is a large part of your system design then 20-30% is better.
2. Flow
I have had issues with cyano and detritus accumulating in my fuges and this is mostly form a lack of flow. With everyone going with smaller return pumps it can sometimes be beneficial to add a power head to the fuge. I just eyeball the flow and make sure it is sweeping away detritus and cyano.
3. Light
Your fuge needs to be more hospitable to algae than your display and this means you need a good light. I do think some people go overboard here but I still would plan on spending a good amount of money. My fuge lights didn't cost quite as much as my skimmer but it is close. I have had much more success with bright lights than with the twist in PC bulbs I started with.
4. Micro nutrients
This is what really turned me off to fuges. I would have "random" algae collapses that would cause huge fluctuations in my system as all of the macro would die and nutrients would climb. I eventually learned that my macro was depleting all of the micro nutrients like iron and molybdenum. After adding liquids like Chaeto Gro or a substrate like miracle mud I stopped having the collapses. I really feel some form of supplementation is necessary over the long run with a macro algae fuge.

 

[Siberwulf]

I went with the Triton method for my fuge. Main points:

• Size - 10%-15% of Total Water Volume was what I was going for
• Flow - I have 10x the tank volume going in there. So my 90g has a 900gph flow rate. This causes a lot of motion in there, but there are still some dead spots. I have a cheap powerhead in there, which is cycled on for five minutes every hour to clear out the corners.
• Live Rock - Not a ton, but this rubble serves to hold bio load and is a pace where some hermits can chill out and eat what falls down.
• Lack of filtration - with Triton, I've read you don't want filter socks or other media. The point is to be more like the ocean. And I've not seen any filter socks in the ocean.
• Macro Algae - I'm using Chaeto in mine. Getting it to tumble is one thing, but having flow through it is important. Detrius gets stuck in it, things eat it, poop and then the Chaeto eats the nitrates. The plan for this is to remove these excess growth and let that be my waste removal system
• Skimmer location - Most put it before the fuge, I put mine after it. This is, again, to let the Chaeto get the junk in it, and let that start the break down. Stuff that doesn't get stuck can make it to the skimmer chamber
• Lighting - As @Montiman said, lighting matters. I went with a AI Fuge 16, which was a low-heat, very specific wavelength light. BRS did a dig into this whole setup and while I don't think they recommended the AI Fuge, they did recommend growth-specific lights and not just one you pick up at Home Depot.

Hope this helps!

 

[fluffyhuckleberry]

Great advice so far.

My only advice to add would be to mind your light spill.

I ditched my fuge a year ago in favor of an algae reactor for exactly this purpose.

I can shield the algae reactor very easily so zero light gets out into the rest of the sump area. This has greatly reduced the time it takes to clean the sump walls of excess algae. It has also extended the time between skimmer cleanings, and it performs more consistently over the time between cleanings.

 

[revhtree]

BUMP for a good thread!

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Great tips. thanks everyone!

 

[Robs Reef]

I've been running refugiums for over 26 years, and I've used the same method for every tank I have. Substrate of choice is Eco system miracle mud by leng sy. I don't know if it's the main contributer to my success, but the success I have is the proof. Very low flow, for more contact time through the macro algae, maybe 3x5 times total water volume per hour, and a decent light, light I use is a Kessil H380. For example my 600g system, 450g DT and 150g refugium, full blown in 2 years, from frags to colonies.