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#1
10/26/2005, 06:11 PM
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to refuge or not to refuge?
i have a 29g. reef/fish. just wanted some input on weather it would be worth it for me to use a 10 gal or so as a refugeium, or if wouldnt make any diffrence.
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29 gal reef |
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#2
10/26/2005, 06:52 PM
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refuge
totally worth it plus you get another tank to look at
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current tank 94 corner, SPS/LPS basement sump |
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#4
10/26/2005, 07:21 PM
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either way, you need a overflow box or a drilled tank.
it's pretty simple after that. I used a plastic bucket for my first refugium for ease of set-up
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current tank 94 corner, SPS/LPS basement sump |
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#5
10/26/2005, 08:09 PM
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Refugium pros:
1. Macro algae growth and harvesting (nitrite export) 2. Haven for copepods, worms and other beneficial critters 3. Interesting to watch 4. Adds volume to your tank to smooth spikes in water quality 5. Water level in show tank remains constant 6. Keeps surface clean and increases gas exchange rates Refugium cons: 1. Flooding if overflow u-pipe siphon is lost (rare) |
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#6
10/26/2005, 09:07 PM
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so i could use a plain 10 gal tank with some sand, rock and plants with a regular plant light and an overflow box and some pumps and thats pretty much all there is to it? i know ther is more setup needed but thats the main gist right?
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29 gal reef |
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#7
10/26/2005, 09:13 PM
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that's pretty much the set-up
A seperate area that will allow helpfull critters grow without getting eaten. Like I said, my first 'fuge was a 5 gallon bucket and a shop light
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current tank 94 corner, SPS/LPS basement sump |
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#8
10/26/2005, 09:23 PM
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I've got the CPR refugium that hangs on the back, 5gal size, on my 29gal tank. I think it's made a huge difference since I don't run a skimmer (I will be soon). Not to mention it give's me a place to trow anything I think is causing too much truble. I've got almost all my hermits in there and a couple of sexy shrimp that like to eat LPS tissue.
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-David |
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#9
10/26/2005, 09:32 PM
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man, a fuge is totally worth it. best of all, in a small system it is relatively easy. (unlike spelling relatively correctly)
if you go to my website link, you can see the way we set our 29 reef up with a 10g fuge using a custom overflow. if you need any help figuring out the plumbing just pm me. -Ben |
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#10
10/26/2005, 09:33 PM
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Quote:
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current tank 94 corner, SPS/LPS basement sump |
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#11
10/26/2005, 10:06 PM
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you can take a 20g long tank and section it up with acyrlic so that your fuge is in the center and on both sides are left for your skimmer, return pump, CR etc. you can find images to copy on the web.
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#12
10/26/2005, 10:15 PM
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ah you left out somthing thats a con of a fuge. caulerpa and chaeto are drawn like a magnet to the pump and love to clog them. eggcrate can help but you still have to keep you eye on it
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#13
10/26/2005, 10:24 PM
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bad pic but you can see how i sectioned off the plants so they don't go into the pump
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#15
10/27/2005, 06:08 PM
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In your refugium, you should create baffles for two reasons:
1) Keep bubbles from the drain from making their way into the return pump and, thus, into your main tank. Unsightly. Possibly hazardous. 2) Section off the actual 'fuge area, so that your macro doesn't clog the return pump intake. Generally speaking, put one acrylic baffle on the side where the drain is, so that water overflows into the 'fuge chamber. Then put a couple baffles (e.g., one overflow, one "underflow", one overflow) between the 'fuge and the return pump chamber. As long as you're not tearing your macro into little pieces, you shouldn't have a clogging problem (esp. with chaetomorpha, which is what you should be using anyway). The triple baffle setup (the way I described it) should eliminate any microbubbles.
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I am an American aquarium drinker. |
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#17
10/27/2005, 07:52 PM
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A 5100K spiral compact, something like a 20W bulb that outputs 75W. You can get them at Home Depot. Can't remember more details than that right now...
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I am an American aquarium drinker. |
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#18
10/27/2005, 08:32 PM
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i was using caulerpa and chaeto with 24 hr lighting on a 5100k pc bulb. it would grow over and under baffles as it grew (especially the caulerpa) and no matter what i did i couldnt prevent it from eventually reaching my pump. i was forced to have to constantly get down there and start pulling and untangling macro
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#19
10/27/2005, 10:03 PM
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jebar-
yah it was to low i was planning to plant mangroves in it but never did, I have a new fuge now but it gets my point across on how to keep the plants out of the pump. here is my new fuge that has yet to be stocked no way plants will hit the pumps with this design 
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