Rjramos
Valuable Member
After reading the articles on the most recent Coral magazine “Refugiums gone Wild”, I’ve decided to add my knowledge and experience on the subject.
Both Julian Sprung and Marc Levenson, mention the significance of having a refugium sized properly to the display’s volume. Levenson, recommends a refugium to be no less than 10% of Display tanks volume. So, for a 100 gal display, a 10 gal (20x10x12), would be minimum.
What I here very often from fellow reef hobbyist is that they don’t have the space to accommodate the properly sized refugium in the cabinet. The article by Levenson does have creative ideas on how he incorporates a refugium in his systems through a compartmentalized custom sump and other ways of placing a refugium in other types of set ups.
I started my first refugium in 1998. 3 years after setting up my first reef aquarium, I found myself dealing with hair algae that nearly drove me to quit the hobby. Around this time I read an article by Mike Paletta, where he was using “The Ecosystem Aquarium” method with “Miracle Mud” as a refugium substrate and growing caulerpa,
with great success meanwhile keeping nutrients in check.
I wanted to incorporate this system into my 3 yr old 65 gal reef with hair algae problem, but where and how was the big question. Secondly, was it gonna work as claimed and get rid of nuisance algae.
I got on ecosystem aquariums website and calculated the properly sized refugium and amount of mud for a 65 gal display. It called for 10lbs of mud, and a sump that would be too big to fit in my cabinet. I ended up, using the recommended surface area of their sump and custom built a longer, narrower, and shallower refugium that would fit inside the cabinet. Although, not along the floor of the cabinet where the preexisting sump, external protein skimmer and external pump were located, but above, on a shelf I put in. My idea, was to split the return coming from the display, and place gate valves to regulate how much water would go to refugium and how much would go directly to sump below. The refugium sump above would dump into the other sump below it. I re plumbed the system with the incorporated refugium and caulerpa and within 1 month the hair algae was gone! This display is still running great today. Here it is.
As you can see, it’s pretty tight, in a cabinet with a footprint of around 45”x12”. The height of this cabinet is 40” which is of most importance when doing these types of set ups. The refugium above is 30”x8”x 10” tall. On the left is a dinosaur of a skimmer, a Top Fathom 110, on the right, an external pump. The custom made secondary sump handles display and refugium overflow in case of power outage. External pump feeds skimmer and turns over display.
From this initial set up, I based every set up I’ve put together since.
Here is my 120 gal display since 2006.
Here is my dual 60 frag/grow out (2018)
So, as you can see incorporating a refugium when space is limited is also possible by going vertical within the cabinet. The only thing necessary is a tall cabinet and a refugium and sump that fits. Of course, custom sizing these to fit is even better. I hope you all have liked my ideas on incorporating a refugium into a new or preexisting system. If you have any questions, let me know.
Both Julian Sprung and Marc Levenson, mention the significance of having a refugium sized properly to the display’s volume. Levenson, recommends a refugium to be no less than 10% of Display tanks volume. So, for a 100 gal display, a 10 gal (20x10x12), would be minimum.
What I here very often from fellow reef hobbyist is that they don’t have the space to accommodate the properly sized refugium in the cabinet. The article by Levenson does have creative ideas on how he incorporates a refugium in his systems through a compartmentalized custom sump and other ways of placing a refugium in other types of set ups.
I started my first refugium in 1998. 3 years after setting up my first reef aquarium, I found myself dealing with hair algae that nearly drove me to quit the hobby. Around this time I read an article by Mike Paletta, where he was using “The Ecosystem Aquarium” method with “Miracle Mud” as a refugium substrate and growing caulerpa,
with great success meanwhile keeping nutrients in check.
I wanted to incorporate this system into my 3 yr old 65 gal reef with hair algae problem, but where and how was the big question. Secondly, was it gonna work as claimed and get rid of nuisance algae.
I got on ecosystem aquariums website and calculated the properly sized refugium and amount of mud for a 65 gal display. It called for 10lbs of mud, and a sump that would be too big to fit in my cabinet. I ended up, using the recommended surface area of their sump and custom built a longer, narrower, and shallower refugium that would fit inside the cabinet. Although, not along the floor of the cabinet where the preexisting sump, external protein skimmer and external pump were located, but above, on a shelf I put in. My idea, was to split the return coming from the display, and place gate valves to regulate how much water would go to refugium and how much would go directly to sump below. The refugium sump above would dump into the other sump below it. I re plumbed the system with the incorporated refugium and caulerpa and within 1 month the hair algae was gone! This display is still running great today. Here it is.
As you can see, it’s pretty tight, in a cabinet with a footprint of around 45”x12”. The height of this cabinet is 40” which is of most importance when doing these types of set ups. The refugium above is 30”x8”x 10” tall. On the left is a dinosaur of a skimmer, a Top Fathom 110, on the right, an external pump. The custom made secondary sump handles display and refugium overflow in case of power outage. External pump feeds skimmer and turns over display.
From this initial set up, I based every set up I’ve put together since.
Here is my 120 gal display since 2006.
So, as you can see incorporating a refugium when space is limited is also possible by going vertical within the cabinet. The only thing necessary is a tall cabinet and a refugium and sump that fits. Of course, custom sizing these to fit is even better. I hope you all have liked my ideas on incorporating a refugium into a new or preexisting system. If you have any questions, let me know.
