Refugiums

[Flame*Angel]

I've been reading a lot of posts about refugiums here and have noticed that many of the experts recommend them too. I'm planning a 120g with a Lifereef sump below in the basement. Someday, when my tank is very stable and mature I'd like to have a manderin dragonet and I've heard that these can benefit from a refugium.

Do many of you run a refugium? Would you say it's helping your tank overall? Also, how complicated are they to run? In "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner he mentions a sandbed, live rock and plant growth with maybe a few cleanup crew type critters - all under a grow light.

Would this need a pump? I don't understand how it would be connected to the system, before or after the protien skimmer.

[Staceon]

Good morning FA,

The term "refugium" seems to throw off some. The idea is two parted, one for extra food the other for export functions. A "refugium" can be anything, from a simple bredder box in the back corner of the tank, to a gravity feed tank located above the display. You can basically use anything that will hold water. :)

The export function is where hobbiest use macros and sometimes LR. These two will help to aid in conversion/uptake of nitrates.

The extra food comes from the fauna that will grow undistrubted from predators. So you pod pops have a place to multiply and hopefully leak back into the main system for extra food(they can also help in export).


There are all kinds of different fuges, from in-tank, gravity feed, in sump, to hang-on.

Dont know if this helps you or not, but hopefully might stir up so more questions.

Here is one link for more info:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/3389/reeftank/refugium.html

[smpolyp]

It is glad to see that you are planning your tank out better than I did. I din't even think about a refugium when I started up my 230. I ended up not having any room ,but for a 20 gal tank. It still has alot of life and I enjoy it alot. It has alot of bugs and the Halimeda has just about taken over the whole tank.

[DougL]

Flame*Angel;

The link Staceon provided is IMHO the best refugium page out there. It even links to my more modest attempt at an explanation. :)

I run a refugium and see great benefits.
Lots of Export from macro and micro, lots of nutrient recycling and tons of life.
I would not run another system without at least a little one.

HTH;

DougL




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Email: dougl@speakeasy.org
Alt email: douglxyzzy@netscape.net

Homepage sites.netscape.net/douglxyzzy/homepage (http://sites.netscape.net/douglxyzzy/homepage)

[salttess]

Can I ask where you guys buy the plants for the refugiums? and what kind they are? TIA

[Staceon]

salttess,

I use a variety of different macros...I got them all here:
www.inlandaquatics.com (http://www.inlandaquatics.com)

[Flamin`Angel]

Hey Flame,
Flamin`here lol
Try out http://sites.netscape.net/douglxyzzy/refugium.html
After reading alot on this board I am convinced of the many benefits a refugie provides.
Maybe you should consider to make it a place also for a deep sandbed.RDP Reverse DaylightPhotosyntesis could also be helpful.This way you get maximum out of your algae/dsb/refugie,at a resonable cost!! ;)
I plan to do this,but feel free to ask away.
Best Regards
Michael

[RWD]

I just set up a refugium on my new 300 reef. The water comes from a corner overflow. The container is a 25(?) gal Sterlite container. I put in 50 lbs of HD sand and about 10 lbs of live sand on top. I also added 15 lbs of live rock and some macro algae I had laying around. It is lit by a 65 watt pc fixture from Menards on a reverse daylight cycle. After only 2 weeks it looks good but it's hard to say if it has any effect on the tank so far. Here's a pic of it:
http://bobsreefermadness.homestead.com/files/thm_refugium1_week1.jpg
Bob

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Visit my Reef Site (http://bobsreefermadness.homestead.com/index.html)

[This message has been edited by RWD (edited 09-18-2000).]

[salttess]

Hey Staceon, thanks I have been searching all over. Can I also put tang haven in there?

[Staceon]

Nope thats a www.ipsf.com (http://www.ipsf.com) product...sorry I just re-read your question. Yes you can put that in there. Sorry thought you were asking if you could buy from IA. :)

[This message has been edited by Staceon (edited 09-18-2000).]

[salttess]

Sure appreciate the help!! Tina

[npaden]

Flame,
Another vote for the benefits of a refugium for all of the above reasons.
I simply use a 15 gallon tank sitting on a bookshelf next to my tank for a refugium. The hardest part of my set up was finding a tall enough bookshelf with a big enough top to fit a decent sized tank.
Here are some pics of the refugium on my site:
Close up of refugium (http://padens.homepage.com/hp/gear/photo/ReefTank/diy.html?item=6.3)
Tank and refugium (http://padens.homepage.com/hp/gear/photo/ReefTank/index.html?item=6.1)
Full view of tank (all open) and refugium (http://padens.homepage.com/hp/gear/photo/ReefTank/equipment.html?item=6.1)

HTH, Nathan


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Visit my homepage at padens.homepage.com (http://padens.homepage.com)

[npaden]

P.S. - I got my macroalgae from http://www.gulf-view.com when I ordered some live rock and sand from them.