Refugium - what’s in yours

Reefer Reboot

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Just my experience with MarinePure, set up my tank originally with two of the large bricks in the first chamber of the sump and a bag of the rubble style in a low flow section. The first ICP test showed an elevated aluminum result. I used some Metasorb then ran the ICP test again. That test and all subsequent test showed no aluminum. IDK, maybe it would be best to cure it first.
 

Pistondog

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Doesn't really matter for most setups. If you want to try the "Trident Method" then they recommend the refugium before the skimmer so that the macroalgae and other microfauna can up-take what nutrients they need before the skimmer removes it. That's what I'll be doing and I bought a sump setup specifically for Trident (the Trigger Systems Trident 20v2). The fuge is before the skimmer and can hold approximately 9 gallons (needs to be approx 10% of tank volume for this method.) The skimmer and return sections are adequate but smaller than what I've seen on most non-trident sumps. I bought an appropriately sized skimmer (Reef Octopus Essense S-130) and ended up putting my over-sized return pump outside the sump and have the intake plumbed up and over the side of the sump with a strainer that keeps the intake about 2-3 inches off the bottom.

Fuge has some marinepure 2x2" blocks and left-over dry rock. I'll see if the marinepure makes a difference on my first ICP test. No livestock yet... probably going to stock up from ipsf.com.
Do you mean triton method?
Nice skimmer.
 

G Santana

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Just my experience with MarinePure, set up my tank originally with two of the large bricks in the first chamber of the sump and a bag of the rubble style in a low flow section. The first ICP test showed an elevated aluminum result. I used some Metasorb then ran the ICP test again. That test and all subsequent test showed no aluminum. IDK, maybe it would be best to cure it first.
I will be starting my build at the end of the month, I have taken a lot of what this site provides as anecdotal advice from yrs of experience, what I am not willing to do is start off on the wrong foot.
I had high hopes for this product but I just can't "hope for the best" or cure something that shouldn't be in their reef "safe" product.
Believe me when I say that when I first saw the ceramic blocks I was impressed, but I am not rolling those dice with so many people saying the same exact thing.
 

Pyrosteve

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Matrix, Chaeto, Gracilaria, GHA, pods, a couple nerites & hermits for CUC in a small fuge. I'll throw in a Mexican Turbo for a couple days if it starts getting too messy.
 

K1ng

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I have a 45 gallon refuge with live rock growing calurpa, cyano, and GHA. Houses 2 whyoming white clowns, peppermint shrimp and blue leg hermits.
 

alimac122

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image.jpg

I added: bio bricks, chaeto, sea lettuce, mangroves, pods.

hitchhikers: Ghost flatworms, pineapple sponge, Asternia Star, random swirly white things in to bottom row of bricks I haven’t IDd yet

hair algae and sea lettuce love the fuge. Chaeto And mangroves tolerate it. About to throw my strawberry conch in there to help clean up a lil bit.
and no I don’t ever plan on cleaning the fuge myself except to remove macro algae, but my system hasn’t completely stabilized yet. It’s only been a fully functioning fuge about 2ish months.
 

RobB'z Reef

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Below are pix of my fuge progress. I have a couple of peppermint shrimp and a Sea hare that keeps the hair algae at bay, although i believe its starting to eat the Chaeto! I turn off the flow value and feed Phyto weekly and that pays off big time..... The fuge has massive populations of pods, and in the main display at night it looks like snow. I also see that my anthias freely feed on the numerous pods floating in the water column during the day



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not gonna lie...that's a pretty epic fuge :)
 

RobB'z Reef

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Miracle mud with the AI prime fuge grows a variety of macros in my fuge I separate the reds in Drilled specimen containers to aid in their survival as the chaeto and more aggressive varieties will choke them out.

81676882-4CEC-486A-A6F9-1C9FE01414CD.jpeg B5D43EA0-94C0-49DD-A80D-A039F375A800.jpeg
I like the primes... they are really economical. How did you arrive to your spectrum blend and schedule that's favorable to plant growth?
 

RobB'z Reef

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Just my experience with MarinePure, set up my tank originally with two of the large bricks in the first chamber of the sump and a bag of the rubble style in a low flow section. The first ICP test showed an elevated aluminum result. I used some Metasorb then ran the ICP test again. That test and all subsequent test showed no aluminum. IDK, maybe it would be best to cure it first.
perhaps some residual contamination from the mfg process that leaches out initially?
 

wolfthefallen

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My refugium has Sea Lettuces instead of chaeto.. Mainly cause I could not keep chaeto alive due to not enough flow for my setup. I also have pods and some ceramic bio balls and Seachem DeNitrate in there.

1597792242523.png
 

cmaza

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hi,

im looking to set up a refugium in my sump. I have some biorb ceramic media laying around. do you think this will be suitable along with cheato?

thanks
 

Pistondog

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hi,

im looking to set up a refugium in my sump. I have some biorb ceramic media laying around. do you think this will be suitable along with cheato?

thanks
Sure, I have 8 inches of live rock and a blanket of chaeto on top, close to the light. Use your ceramics to elevate the chaeto for better par.
 

Hermie

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My refugium is like a black hole that I don't want to go inside. I have no idea what's in there for a while now. Shrimps dinos chaeto bristle worms everything I bet.
 

cmaza

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is there a concern of detrius build up with ceramic media rather than live rock or live rock rubble? would it be worth adding live sand also?

Id like a system with minimal maintanace required.

thanks

Sure, I have 8 inches of live rock and a blanket of chaeto on top, close to the light. Use your ceramics to elevate the chaeto for better par
 

Pistondog

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Triton says it does make a difference. They want your macro to get first dibs on the stuff in the water. Skimmer after fuge.
Hard to believe there's a difference, skimmers or refugium are not 100% or 50% or 10% efficient in 1st pass at nutrient removal.
Does triton mention what stuff specifically? Macro uses mostly nitrate and phosphate (maybe ammonia) which are small molecules not removed by skimmers.
 

Pistondog

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is there a concern of detrius build up with ceramic media rather than live rock or live rock rubble? would it be worth adding live sand also?

Id like a system with minimal maintanace required.

thanks
No sand.
Every 6 months I take out the chaeto, rock and clean.
 

stanleo

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20 gallon section of the sump with about ten pounds of live rock, a huge mass of chaeto, isopods, copepods, amphipods, mysis shrimp, and a gorilla crab. Bare bottom

refugium 2.28.jpg
 
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