Refugium Refusal : Why would you NOT run a refugium?
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I have a small Fuge running to grow Cheato. It only holds a ball of Cheato about softball sized and a few Hermit Crabs. Besides some (little) binding and export of nutrients, it will be a home for pods when the tank gets a little more mature. It sits above my return section and only takes up about 16" X 16" X 8" of otherwise wasted space. I won't say that it helps a lot, but it helps a little, doesn't take up space needed for other things, and provides a spot to maintain a little diversity.
I've tried large cryptic fuges, Macro Algae fuges, and others. Seems like I always end up tearing them down to make room for something else.
I've tried large cryptic fuges, Macro Algae fuges, and others. Seems like I always end up tearing them down to make room for something else.
Bought eight of them. Allows me to move the grid up and down if I want to (I may move it down, Chaeto nearly coming out of the water!)
HJ99
Active Member
I just got some off ebay from a guy in Ohio. Nice size, reasonable and clean. I did a BRS type RODI soak and got absolutely nothing off it.I have a refugium ready to go, just not running because I can't find chaeto
MohH
Community Member
I think a Fuge is not only a place to grow macro algae but a safe place for pods etc...my sump for example has too much flow for pods to be able to flourish so i made a small fuge (due to space limitations under the stand) where pods can multiply and the return from this goes into the return chamber of the sump.My goal is to have a constant supply of these small critters to sustain a mandarin.
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Lowlandreef
Active Member
I run a refugium, and I absolutely love it. Very easy to manage and one of the most effective filters IMO. All you need is a (decent) light and some algae and your'e good to go! Also saves you money and time, because you will need to do less to no waterchanges. You will need to dose te replenish minerals, but it's cheaper than salt.
If you subscribe to the theory that we are trying to re-create the ocean ecosystem to the best of our abilities then a macro algae growing refugium is an important piece of that. In my 10 years experience of running my reef everything seems to run better when my refugium is running well with an abundance of macro algae growth.
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Back in the day, a refugeum was aptly named... a refuge for creatures beneficial to your reef, outside of the display. We used to run sand, or mud, live rock, rubble, macro algae (Caulerpa of one type or another was more common then). Slow flow. We'd buy mysid, gammarus, various types of worms, live sand starters, etc. from places like Inland Aquatics, GARF, and IPSF. The idea was a wide variety of organisms. Biologic diversity. Heck, I used to use Xenia as nutrient export, after I'd had C. Racemosa go sexual and make a big mess.
These days, most refugeum are really just an empty space for chaetomorpha.
Ok, there are still a few real refugeum around, but yeah... chaeto as a nutrient export seems to be the norm. Nothing wrong with that... it works well.
From my perspective, if all you want to do is grow chaeto as nutrient export, why not use a macro reactor? Less space, more efficient, keeps it from ending up in places you don't want it, holds down nuisance algae algae, since the bulk of the sump is kept dark.
That's my choice these days. Macro reactor full of Chaeto. Very little maintenance... I clean it out every two months, throw out a 5 gallon bucket of Chaeto, seal it back up... out of sight, out of mind.
Pods? Most of what people are calling 'pods' today seem to be Gammarus shrimp, or scuds. Amphipods. They're large enough that people notice them. I've never seen a need to provide a refugeum for these critters... If you've got live rock, sand, and corals, they're almost like bristle worms... just _try_ and keep them out. Of course, a few wrasses will keep the population low, but rest assured, they're still there.
Copepods seem to be less recognized these days. Many reefers most assuredly still have copepods living and breeding in their tanks... I know there's a healthy population of several species in my tank, anyway, but they are seldom seen. With my eyes, I've got to have a magnifying glass and a flashlight to spot them.
These days, most refugeum are really just an empty space for chaetomorpha.
Ok, there are still a few real refugeum around, but yeah... chaeto as a nutrient export seems to be the norm. Nothing wrong with that... it works well.
From my perspective, if all you want to do is grow chaeto as nutrient export, why not use a macro reactor? Less space, more efficient, keeps it from ending up in places you don't want it, holds down nuisance algae algae, since the bulk of the sump is kept dark.
That's my choice these days. Macro reactor full of Chaeto. Very little maintenance... I clean it out every two months, throw out a 5 gallon bucket of Chaeto, seal it back up... out of sight, out of mind.
Pods? Most of what people are calling 'pods' today seem to be Gammarus shrimp, or scuds. Amphipods. They're large enough that people notice them. I've never seen a need to provide a refugeum for these critters... If you've got live rock, sand, and corals, they're almost like bristle worms... just _try_ and keep them out. Of course, a few wrasses will keep the population low, but rest assured, they're still there.
Copepods seem to be less recognized these days. Many reefers most assuredly still have copepods living and breeding in their tanks... I know there's a healthy population of several species in my tank, anyway, but they are seldom seen. With my eyes, I've got to have a magnifying glass and a flashlight to spot them.
I ran Triton for 18 months or so, which in essence is a large fuge and no socks as far as the sump goes. For my set up (barebottom) it absolutely required fairly frequent sump cleaning. Any and all equipment in the sump also got caked up with detritus much faster. I don't see a way around that...
legionofdoon
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bkhunt
Well-Known Member
I have tried a couple times with the cheato just eventually withering away. I think I just was not using the proper light. Used screw in coil plant bulb with no luck.
If there is a screw in bulb coil bulb that work let me know and I will try again.
If there is a screw in bulb coil bulb that work let me know and I will try again.
DarfrogDojo
Active Member
I am running a small refugium that is built into my Eshopps R200 sump. It only has chaeto and a Brightwell Bio plate. To me it is worth maintaining to help keep nutrients in check and also build my critter population. Recently I also added a small display refugium to the side of my tank to grow macro algae and house a few smaller calm water fish that might not make it in my DT with the big boys.
legionofdoon
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I had a cheap black box grow light that the chaeto hated but caulerpa loved. The caulerpa took over the chaeto shrank and when I switched lights the opposite happened. I have the brillo type of chaeto it apparently likes less intensity.
Greybeard, this sounds absolutely ideal. Why do you think the hobby has gone away from this?
Greybeard is spot on. There are 2 great articles in the forum written on this that everyone should check out!
(1) Intermediate Topic - Close Encounters of the Copepod Kind | REEF2REEF Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Forum
(1) Amazing Amphipods | REEF2REEF Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Forum
Never had your problems at all. I feed quite a bit and regular. I have a skimmer return pump plus a pump supplying my ATS. I clean them once in a blue moon.
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