Refugium in Reefer 200?

[jeffpopple]

I have a Red Sea G2+ 200 and in the sump the RS Skimmer and Reefmat. I am wanting to put in a refugium. However, I am unsure of where to put it. What little space there is in the cabinet for a hang on is taken by the pull out controller panel to the left. Can I put it in the same chamber as the skimmer?

 

[blaxsun]

Do you even need a refugium? Between the ReefMat and skimmer you probably have enough nutrient control. I'd be more inclined to run an algae reactor if you still want one.

 

[jeffpopple]

Very good question. Maybe not. My main concern is algae control. I will look at a reactor. What do you think about UV sterilizers?

 

[exnisstech]

I'm sure you won't but I'd pull the reefmat and put the fuge there but I'm not a fan of reefmats and am a fan of fuges :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: for the life forms that live there.

My reefer 170 sump. The entire front chamber used to be fuge until I added the skimmer

 

[K1utch]

Build an algae turf scrubber they don't need much space and will take care of your algae problem over time.

 

[Tchung23]

I have a hang on refuge that is squeezed on next to the sump

 

[c4haskett]

I've seen some really nice HOB Refugiums. I actually like these more as pods flow directly into the tank vice getting sucked in by the return pump then to the tank. There are also a ton of options for sump mounted, external HOB algae reactors. Last but not least, with a little diy you can build an external refugium that's plumbed into your sump. As your sump is now, I don't see much space for a refugium (one that's worth having).

 

[CBonito]

I have a Red Sea G2+ 200 and in the sump the RS Skimmer and Reefmat. I am wanting to put in a refugium. However, I am unsure of where to put it. What little space there is in the cabinet for a hang on is taken by the pull out controller panel to the left. Can I put it in the same chamber as the skimmer?

All you need is a small CPR refugium. Your sump looks really small though. might want to measure to see if it will work for you. The small one will hang right off my skimmer compartment with room to spare on my new system. The size isn't as important really as all you need is a safe place for these organisms to be able to reproduce. They will move out to the tank and populate the rock too. A small refugium is capable of keeping a relatively decent sized tank populated. Not eveything that makes it out ot the tank is eaten. Things will start populate the rocks and everything. You will definitely notice a lot of pods in your tank after a while which is good and after that, your corals are going to start being much happier and you're going to see the fish picking at the rocks a lot more too because they're eating.

I've never looked at a refugium in the context of nutrient export, though it will anyway.
The benefit to me, is how much food for the tank it produces. And that's all live food, not dead food...and just because you can't see it with the naked eye, doesn't mean it's not all there. The best substrate in a refugium isn't sand. It's mud. The mud will support a lot more life/types of life than the sand. There is nothing particularly magical about it. Just the particle size and makeup. They say it will release necessary trace elements, but I can't really prove that so whatever.
Buy a small box of live rock rubble from tampa bay saltwater to start it if you want things to take off quicker.

Also, keep the refugium out of the sump. That just makes the whole thing a PITA to clean and put the refugium output to your pump compartment if you can help it at all to ensure anything that comes out goes up into the tank.
A mud refugium was the greatest addition to my tank. The tank just didn't do anywhere near as good until I did this.
Then everything came together. I can't wait to see how it does this time...

 

[CasperOe]

Do you have issues with algae control now? If you do, it's probably because you're doing something you shouldn't be doing :)

Are you trying to control a problem you have- or to prevent a problem that you foresee?

With the nutrient control you have going on already with the roller and the skimmer, I wouldn't think you would need a refugium?

 

[CasperOe]

I'm sure you won't but I'd pull the reefmat and put the fuge there but I'm not a fan of reefmats and am a fan of fuges :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: for the life forms that live there.

My reefer 170 sump. The entire front chamber used to be fuge until I added the skimmer

Yup! What he's saying! Ditch the roller and go full on fuge!

Redid my sump earlier this year- now I am running with no socks and no rollers- a large fuge and a skimmer. That's me. Never looked back and never been happier!

 

[Pearse73]

I'm sure you won't but I'd pull the reefmat and put the fuge there but I'm not a fan of reefmats and am a fan of fuges :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: for the life forms that live there.

My reefer 170 sump. The entire front chamber used to be fuge until I added the skimmer

I’ve a 200xl Gen 1 so my sump is pretty much identical to yours.
May I DM you to get some tips about your refugium setup?

 

[exnisstech]

I’ve a 200xl Gen 1 so my sump is pretty much identical to yours.
May I DM you to get some tips about your refugium setup?

Sure

 

[STLJam]

I have a hang on refuge that is squeezed on next to the sump

Can you share a pic of this. Looking at the 200xl and want a refuge, but not sure if it is better to get a HOB skimmer and use the sump as refuge or get a HOB refuge and put the skimmer in the sump.

 

[Improvident]

Is it possible to move the slide-out control panel up a few inches (maybe moving the hinge to accommodate it) and then hang a refugium off the left side of the sump?

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Yup! What he's saying! Ditch the roller and go full on fuge!

Redid my sump earlier this year- now I am running with no socks and no rollers- a large fuge and a skimmer. That's me. Never looked back and never been happier!

I went this route and I just was never happy. I have a thread here about doing this and a build where I elevated a fuge above the sump in a RS 250 and eliminated the socks. Any system I saw, and had, that deployed this always had some serious trade offs. Physically upset anything in the sump and it was sure to be in your display, shut the system down = the fuge floats and crap is in your return chamber, and so on and so on. I REALLY like having the muck hit the fuge though. The biodiversity that is created over time is outstanding. However, it doesn't consume all of it. I recently gutted one of my sumps and added a roller - All I can say is wow, just wow. What a difference. So much so, I added one to another tank this weekend. Fish look like they are floating the water is so clean. To each their own and everyone's mileage is will be different. With OPs current set up and the fact all the gear is brand new, I wouldn't worry about a fuge right now. In fact, if OP is turning the tank on for the first time, I would pull the skimmer out for a while and not even think about running it, or take the cup off so the water can oxygenate (and perhaps get the PH up with some scrubbing) the water. I might even go a couple weeks without a roller, or un do it 12 hours on 12 hours off. But then again, I like to muck up a tank when it is starting off... But that is just me.

 

[BR260354]

I also have a 200xl G2. Got the RSK300 skimmer and the ReefMat 500. Tried a small refugium behind the reefmat, but just got a lot of slime algae. Took that out and now trying a reactor. Took care of nutrients for sure, but I still have GHA that I just remove manually. My larger aim is to house pods. I'm considering removing the reefmat, using aquamesh for separation from the skimmer area, and setting up a refugium. That also means adding a fug light for that area - AI Blade refugium or the Kessil route.

The other option is the HOB. I'm thinking that would be WAY easier and will keep my water clearer by keeping the reefmat. If a mid-size CPR could keep a decent pod population, that may be my direction. However, it could be cool to have another bio-environment in the sump with a slightly larger refugium in the sump. With that said, a mid-size CPR is 3.6g. I'm thinking dividing my sump area wouldn't gain much more space.

Always fun to play with this stuff!