Warning.. stupid questions to follow about refugium’s

[LeftFootedJedi]

1st time sump & refugium owner here & I have some really dumb questions… please be gentle. I’m probably over thinking this but want to make sure I’m not being careless nor overzealous in my approach. I plan on growing chaeto if that influences your answers to the below. So here it goes..

1. Tank has been wet a month & went live this weekend.. too early to set up the refugium? If yes, when is a good time?

2. The baffle that separates my refugium & return reservoir/pump doesn’t have any media or filtration between it. Should I put something there? And will that inhibit..

3. Copepods.. are they 100% dumped into the tank manually after I catch them or do they (insert The Rock’s voice) ride the people’s wave from the refugium.. into the return pump & up the line to get eaten in the DT?!?!

 

[TN_Huskymama]

1. I started my refugium after my tank fully cycled. Not sure if that is correct, it is just what I did.

2. No need for anything in the open space of the baffle between refugium and return pump. Are yu experiencing any extra bubbles at all?
In my return pump area though, I have some extra ceramic cubes for bacterial growth. My protein skimmer is in the same chamber as my filter sock so I do not have any bubble issues.

3. My Copepods I empty into my refugium for the most part. I just started adding some to the tank itself with all my flow turned off in order to allow the pods a chance to get to the rocks. Only reason I started adding to the tank is because my son purchased a dragonette last month.

Hope this helps!

 

[redfishbluefish]

I have some dumb answers for your dumb questions!

1. What are your N and P numbers looking like. I've found that most new tanks have high N and P from leaching from the rock.

2. That's up to you. I don't like any media between baffles. I prefer running in a reactor.....not to mention that my sump has no baffles.

3. First off, I don't catch pods to feed. I let the "automation" of the pump supplying pods up to the DT. It's everyone for themselves.

 

[landlubber]

i'm leery about starting a refugium early despite hearing that some people do.
the only concern i have would be combined with a skimmer and whatever nutrient mitigation methods you're using stripping the water clean and opening the door to bigger problems like dinos.
pods will find their way into your system without directly adding them. unless you're keeping a mandarin there isn't dire need to add them.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Agreed Landlubber.. that’s the one reason I hesitate.

RedFish, these are my recent parameters.

 

[JosephM]

Just wanted to put my quick 2 cents in. Chaeto is OP. I struggled to keep detectable N03 and P04 and had to dose both until my P04 stabilized and now I only dose every few days but still have to dose N03 daily. I have recently had an issue with my chaeto growing but that’s besides the point. Pods will make it from your sump to the DT in their larval form, adults will most likely be killed or very injured from the trip.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

So it might be a good idea to add some copepods directly to the DT from time to time.

 

[JosephM]

So it might be a good idea to add some copepods directly to the DT from time to time.

When I bought them I always dumped about 1/4 into DT and rest into the sump. I actually just scraped my DT and for the first time realized how many thousands of pods were in my tank so they definitely make it from the sump.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Cool. I’m not trying to make them a primary food source but do want them as a part of my CUC & occasional snack.

 

[Sarlindescent]

IMO, fuges health depend on the type of aquarist you are. Are you OCD? Does any bit of detritus bother you? Are you one of those that never misses a feeding, but often misses a water change?

Filtration is inversely dependent with the success and longevity of a tank. If you have a 2 year old tank that is on point (big colonies and corals wall to wall), those corals will consume a significant portion of the nutrients. An aged tank may also have other natural means of filtration, such as increased biodiversity like sponges, bacterias not available to a new tank, and so on. These all act as filtration.

With that said, if you have N&P issues, a fuge is a very effective means of handling them.

As per the empty chamber, that is not an issue. If you find you need more filtration, you have space for it. If you don't need it, an empty chamber adds water volume for dilution. An empty chamber can also be used as a frag healing station down the road if you need.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Makes sense.. I don’t have any issues now but I historically have a heavy feeding hand so need something to help keep nutrients in check until my tank catches up.

 

[Desperado Lucky]

The area between the baffles in my sump is filled with Siporax cylinders so I could reduce amount of rock in the tank. It’s a preference and empty would be fine, or if not running a reactor, could put carbon or GFO bags in there