Let's talk Refugiums

[SchnitzelReef]

I know fuges work, that's not the point of this discussion. the point is if our small- in sump fuges are large enough to have any effect on our large tanks. I wanna hear your input. And give me some legit info, NOT "I have a fuge and it helps a lot"....tell me how it helps or how it doesn't do anything.


I currently have a 5-10g fuge on my 250g tank. It's in the center chamber of my 3 chamber sump. I'm in the process of designing a new sump, and I'm wondering if a 5-10g fuge is even beneficial on such a large tank. I've seen guys with Refugiums that swear by them, BUT they are usually HUGE Refugiums. Like I know john (Wetdreads) had a nice 135g SPS tank. He swore by his fuge. But it was a 90g tank filled with rocks and different algaes. Do I maybe need to get a 100+g fuge for it to have any effect on exporting nutrients? Maybe having an in sump fuge isn't for exporting nutrients. Maybe it's just a great spot to trap detritus and turn into a nitrate factory (which is exactly why I am thinking of ditching mine on my new sump) lol.

Let's hear your thoughts.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

This is my "fuge" on my 250g tank. Just seems like there's no way this tiny fuge, even if it's filled with chaeto, would have any effect on my tank.

 

[lurking]

do you grow algae in the fuge? Do you then trim the algae as it grows and remove it from the sump and thereby export nutrients? But yah the more algea you can grow ( you can grow more in a larger fuge) will result in greater nutrient export.

I love shnitz and his threads.

 

[lowbudget]

I have a fuge and it helps a lot

 

[Six2seven]

I have a fuge and it works a lot!


lol


no but seriously my fuge is 18x18x16 and was supposed to be a display fuge but two of my macro algae have taken over. The chaeto alone is growing faster than I can cut it down and laziness has even made it grow out of the water. Whatever algae is out of the water has died but the chaeto still in the water would fill a 5g bucket at least.

as far as does it work? i believe the size of mine works for my tank. I do not run GFO and do not believe i need to. I have no algae whatsoever in my display and frag tank. when it comes to size, i had the same questions regarding Algae scrubbers. Those santa Monica scrubbers seemed rather small for what they say they do. The only good experieces were from people who had their own monster size scrubbers like EMac.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

do you grow algae in the fuge? Do you then trim the algae as it grows and remove it from the sump and thereby export nutrients? But yah the more algea you can grow ( you can grow more in a larger fuge) will result in greater nutrient export.

I love shnitz and his threads.

So u explained what a refugiun does, great! But does it benefit the tank? Does trimming a tiny ball of chaeto in a 5g fuge have any effect on a 250g tank? There are tank ratings for skimmers, but no rating for fuges. Putting a nano skimmer on my tank would fill the collection cup with some gunk, but does that mean having it is actually beneficial to my tank? I'm guessing all the fish in my tank will pollute the water way faster then a nano skimmer can pull it out, so why even have one? Get what I'm saying ..?

 

[SchnitzelReef]

I have a fuge and it helps a lot

Why even post?

 

[lurking]

So u explained what a refugiun does, great! But does it benefit the tank? Does trimming a tiny ball of chaeto in a 5g fuge have any effect on a 250g tank? There are tank ratings for skimmers, but no rating for fuges. Putting a nano skimmer on my tank would fill the collection cup with some gunk, but does that mean having it is actually beneficial to my tank? I'm guessing all the fish in my tank will pollute the water way faster then a nano skimmer can pull it out, so why even have one? Get what I'm saying ..?

well for you I would say it does not work since you have cyano everywhere and your frags are stunted. Maybe try a lager fuge so you can export more nutrients?

 

[SchnitzelReef]

I have a fuge and it works a lot!


lol


no but seriously my fuge is 18x18x16 and was supposed to be a display fuge but two of my macro algae have taken over. The chaeto alone is growing faster than I can cut it down and laziness has even made it grow out of the water. Whatever algae is out of the water has died but the chaeto still in the water would fill a 5g bucket at least.

as far as does it work? i believe the size of mine works for my tank. I do not run GFO and do not believe i need to. I have no algae whatsoever in my display and frag tank. when it comes to size, i had the same questions regarding Algae scrubbers. Those santa Monica scrubbers seemed rather small for what they say they do. The only good experieces were from people who had their own monster size scrubbers like EMac.

Yea I'm thinking I need a bigger fuge. The problem is how do I add one under my stand. Lol What 2 algaes are u using? I had caulerpa in my last fuge, that stuff grew insanely fast. Like twice as fast as the chaeto. It eventually overtook the chaeto and I just pulled out whatever was left.

 

[BeanMachine]

I like my fuge more than for just nutrient export. Its a place for pods and other cool critters to grow.

 

[bigpaul]

I have a 80 gallon refugium on my 240 and I think it is to small I wish I had gone with a 120+ gallon refugium. I think the larger total volume of water you have the more room for "error" you have and it will help keep oxygen and ph levels stable. If the refugium is not large enough for the tank then it probably will not be very benificial at all so I would do the largest refugium you can get.
Even with a 80 gallon sump/refugium I have a hard time getting the equipment to fit and I am out of room to add anything else.
Good luck and I cant wait to see what you decide to do.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

well for you I would say it does not work since you have cyano everywhere and your frags are stunted. Maybe try a lager fuge so you can export more nutrients?

Ok. Cool. Thanks for your help. Maybe u should stick to the shittt talking threads, U seem to have a lot more to add to those threads. Was hoping people that had legitimate info would respond. Thanks though

 

[mark.a.smith405]

I used the entire middle section of my sump for my fuge. So it's roughly 30 gallons? I can see the growth rate on my chaeto diminish when I put GFO online. So I am assuming it works well as the phosphates are relatively in check without yt. But like Cody said I also like it for pods! Lots of my fish prefer pods over prepared foods (or so it seems)

 

[pgr11]

I like my fuge more than for just nutrient export. Its a place for pods and other cool critters to grow.

This pretty much sums up my thoughts. Does it help? Sure it does, any nutrient export helps. If you have the room why not run it. Plus with the benefit of pod production it seems to be a no brainer for me. Now sand or no sand. I switched to no sand in my new one and not sure whether or not there is a difference.

 

[BeanMachine]

I also remember from a talk at a reef geek meeting that algaes chemically compete with one another, so having algaes in say a fuge would compete and starve / prevent another one from growing and benefit your tank in that way. Not sure how true that is just remember it was one of the points discussed.

 

[robert_ellis]

At this Point I almost feel an algae scrubber is the better route to go. Minus the pod growth. I feel you get the same amount of "fuge work" out of a lot less space with a scrubber.

 

[Six2seven]

Yea I'm thinking I need a bigger fuge. The problem is how do I add one under my stand. Lol What 2 algaes are u using? I had caulerpa in my last fuge, that stuff grew insanely fast. Like twice as fast as the chaeto. It eventually overtook the chaeto and I just pulled out whatever was left.

i use chaeto and calerpa, i forget the name of it but it vines and roots into anything it touches. It is completely rooted into the 6"sanbed.

for you.. If it were my set up, I would add a giant tub in your shed as a remote refugium. I've seen your set up and think you have the room. Jorge from reefers cove has one of those square bins as his refugium, i always thought that was a good idea. you could probably find a used acrylic 180 for dirt cheap and insulate it completely from all sides with foam. fill it with different macros and flood it with light.

 

[lurking]

Ok. Cool. Thanks for your help. Maybe u should stick to the shittt talking threads, U seem to have a lot more to add to those threads. Was hoping people that had legitimate info would respond. Thanks though

jeeez you are so sensitive.... need a hug?

 

[solitude127]

Ok. Cool. Thanks for your help. Maybe u should stick to the shittt talking threads, U seem to have a lot more to add to those threads. Was hoping people that had legitimate info would respond. Thanks though

Kind of like this response on this thread. What a hypocrite.

http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/showthread.php?61972-Alk-consumption&highlight=

Noob. Stick with ur doser. Calcium reactors are super hard to figure out, it might take 30 maybe 40 minutes of reading to understand it. If u don't know how to raise alk, u shouldn't be using one.

 

[pgr11]

i use chaeto and calerpa, i forget the name of it but it vines and roots into anything it touches. It is completely rooted into the 6"sanbed.

for you.. If it were my set up, I would add a giant tub in your shed as a remote refugium. I've seen your set up and think you have the room. Jorge from reefers cove has one of those square bins as his refugium, i always thought that was a good idea. you could probably find a used acrylic 180 for dirt cheap and insulate it completely from all sides with foam. fill it with different macros and flood it with light.

If I had a clean way of running my plumbing out to my garage that what I wanted to do. Get a big square bin and fill it with rock and algae. My problem is I really have no way of doing it short of saw cutting the concrete.