Cheato + aquafuge = possible tank meltdown?

[Darold]

No, I am not a silly noob. However, today I became a little worried about the possibilities of my refugium leading to a complete tank meltdown. For the first time, I decided to trim the cheato in my refugium. It was actually coming out of the water of the CPR aquafuge. While removing it, a TON of solid waste was loosened. It all spilled into my main tank. Immediately I began to do a water change, catching as much of the solid matter as I could with the syphon. The algae had acted as some sort of mechanical filter, trapping literal handfuls of waste in the refugium. I removed about 1/2 of the cheato, but the tank (20L), was so cloudy, I couldn't view it from one side to the other (side to side, not front to back). I did not panic, but freaked out about the mass of solid matter. Although much of it is still in the tank (to be removed tomorrow in another water change), I think everything is normal. About an hour after the incident, I measured water parameters and everything was good. This is what I expected, since the waste was breaking down in the macro before being stirred up. Unlike most refugiums, the CPR is quite dense when the macro grows. In the future, I will not allow this much algae to accrue of course, but should I be worried about this?


Will the cheato act as a sponge, trapping much of the solid waste, to secretly decompose?

Besides more frequent trimming, is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?

I am going on a scuba trip to the keys for a week, should I be freaked out about the moving of the solid waste from the refugium into the main tank? (don't worry, tank will only be left alone for three days without care).

Is there anything I can do to clean up from the disaster? My cleanup crew is not fully stocked (10+ hermits, 10+ snails).

I am nervously keeping an eye on my shrimps, as I know they would most likely be the first to go.

[Carl_in_Florida]

I would not worry.

This is what people who argue against fuges point to as their main drawback. In a tank with a sump, the wast settles and is syphoned out, waste in the tank is kept suspended and removed by the skimmer before it breaks down.
By having a fuge, you allow a place that detritus can settle and break down but at the same time providing a place where organisms thrive on that stuff.
Bottom line.
That stuff was in your tank before it got scattered. So the tank is no worse now than it was.
When I trim my chaeto, I turn off the flow, and put filter floss between it and the tank before turning it back on.

CArl

[Darold]

That stuff was in your tank before it got scattered. So the tank is no worse now than it was.

This is what I figured. I have already done about a 6 gallon change in the 20, and will do another on Thursday. I am not so worried, now that I know not to let it build up to the level where it blocks the flow. Your idea of shutting off the pump, and blocking the detritus with filter floss is a great idea, and I will use it for future trimming.

[Carl_in_Florida]

cool. These fuges have to be managed. My chaeto acts like a bubble trap in my sump but it is filled with nastiness.

Carl