What is the ACTUAL PURPOSE of a REFUGIUM?

[ProHaloSniper]

Let me know. I have no clue. I do not have one on my 30gallon salty.

Do I need one on a 55gal?

Thanks in advance.

--Jim C.

[joesfiddy]

pod production and nutrient export if you have chaeto

[spike78]

Start here:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm

As well, Anthony Calfo's Reef Invertebrates book dedicates like 60 pages to refugiums.

[colotl]

I added one to my 55 and it has brought my nitrates to 0! The tank over all looks even better. Colors, growth and all living things look vibrant.
I use Chaeto in my fuge and it grows fast. I trim it at least once a week.

[ProHaloSniper]

What is the ACTUAL PURPOSE tho.

If I need one, I want to know. I want to make this tank breathtaking, as it is a centerpiece in my TV ROOM.

Thanks in advance, I'm off to bed.

--Jim C.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by ProHaloSniper
Let me know. I have no clue. I do not have one on my 30gallon salty.

Do I need one on a 55gal?

Thanks in advance.

--Jim C.

if you are going to keep fish that rely on copopods etc for food--eg mandarine goby--yes you need a refugium.

corals also benifit from a refugium--softies and lps will eat zooplankton that a refugium can supply.

[tmz]

There are several purposes and some have several refugia.

Nutirent export can be accomplished by keeping a lighted refugium with chaetomorpha or other macro algae. As the algae grows it consumes excess nutrients and thus helps to prevent nuisance algae in your display tank. It can be harvested from time to time to give it room to grow. When you export it you are taking the nutrients it has absorbed out of your system.

Ph can be stablized to a degree by running the light on your refugium on a photo period opposite that of your tank. Doing so offsets the ph swing associatied with photosynthesis. Your algae will be producing oxygen when your corals are producing CO2 and vice versa.

A safe refuge for microfuana(zooplankton) is provided by a lighted or unlit refgium. This means you shouldn't put anything in it that will eat the zooplankton.

[uscharalph]

The main purpose is to absorb phosphates and nitrates which would otherwise help nusances like cyano and hair algae take over your tank.

[sanababit]

all of the above are correct

[cloak]

Sounds like another tank.

Still trying to figure it out myself.

[FOSELONE]

yes it is another tank...plumbed in line with your main tank...

[cloak]

Originally posted by FOSELONE
yes it is another tank...plumbed in line with your main tank...

Why though? What was wrong with the first tank?

[MalHavoc]

A refugium adds *extra* nutrient export capabilities to your tank's filtration system. It also provides a safe haven for copepods and little critters to grow. You don't *need* one if your tank is already being filtered adequately. How do you know if you need one? Look at your tank. Measure your water quality. Do you have algae problems? Measurable levels of nitrate and phosphate? If so, a refugium will help. Do you keep fish that eat copepods like mandarins? You probably need a refugium. If you don't have algae problems, and your nitrate and phosphate measure ZERO, and you've already got excellent filtration (protein skimming, a deep sand bed, lots of live rock, other forms of filtration, etc), you proabably don't have to worry.

[dwd5813]

Originally posted by cloak
Why though? What was wrong with the first tank?

spend some time rereading the responses you have gotten thus far. they are all correct. the idea for a refugium is to create an additional environment within your system that can house things that may not necessarily be what you want to display, but nevertheless can play an important role in keeping your system healthy. macroalgaes like chaetomorpha can and will take up nutrients that would otherwise fuel algae growth in the display tank. additional live rock will act as a biofilter. microfauna like copepods will have an area in which to reproduce without worry of predation from fish in the main tank. there are many actual purposes, not the least of which is very very simple: additional water volume. imo, its not so much that something has to be "wrong" in the main tank for adding a refugium to make sense. instead, its an addition that allows the keeper to more completely represent the biodiversity of a natural environment in his or her system.

[tmz]

All of that noted above and I think it would be hard to run a single tank on an opposite photo period. A refgium doesn't need to be fancy a rubbermaid bin will do.You can run a tank without one but I have found them to be very helpful, You're choice.

[cloak]

Still seems to me that everything that was stated above can be accomplished in the main tank. Aside from the additional water volume.

[rustybucket145]

Still seems to me that everything that was stated above can be accomplished in the main tank.

Do as you wish, but simply..... unless you go to GREAT lengths, the benefits of a refugium can never be met with a display tank alone.

[loosbrew]

Originally posted by cloak
Still seems to me that everything that was stated above can be accomplished in the main tank. Aside from the additional water volume.

Re-read the previous posts in this thread.

then read them again.

one more time to make sure you got before you ask again...

[xroads]

I figured someone with almost 900 posts would have it figured out by now.

[tmz]

Originally posted by cloak
Still seems to me that everything that was stated above can be accomplished in the main tank. Aside from the additional water volume.

You are chossing to ignore the ph stablizing benefits of an opposite photo period.How do you handle that in your system? In my experience limewater dripping at night combined with an opposite photo refugium work very well.

[spike78]

Originally posted by ProHaloSniper
What is the ACTUAL PURPOSE tho.

--Jim C.

You've gotten a bunch of good leads. If you want to know more, do some research. As I've stated, the Calfo book is an excellent reference that should answer your questions about the multiple benefits of refugia and discussions about the best way to implement them.

[Turbovinny]

Originally posted by cloak
Why though? What was wrong with the first tank?

cuz having a big ball of cheatos floating in your diplay tank looks kinda weird =)

[Sk8r]

One other bennie: when I set up the second time, I had major rock die off, and real sandbed problems [strong pump, blowing sand] that would have played havoc with my urgent need to get all my lfs-boarded corals and fish out of their tanks and into mine.

I had a 1-week cycle and steady-down to spot-on readings. I later figured it wasn't my wounded main-tank sandbed that had carried everything: it was my 20g refugium with its deep sandbed and strongly-growing cheato. It saved my main tank from a real mess and let me get my corals and fish back before the lfs [who was using sale tanks to board my stuff] lost patience.

I never figured a refugium could save the display by remaining bio-active through a nitrite crisis, but it's large relative to my tank and I'm willing to bet it did.

[colotl]

It also hides equipment that would usually go into the display tank.

[snorvich]

Well there are multiple types of refugium. On each of my tanks, I have a refugium with chaeto, a refugium that is a remote deep sand bed, an aiptasia portion of my refugium, and a benethic portion of my refugium which holds dark loving animals such as sponges and tunicates. While you could do this with a large enough tank, it would be difficult and sometimes undesirable to attempt all of these. I suggest more reading of the posts above and Anthony Calfos postings and books.