Do I need a refugium? What are the pros and cons?

[glb]

I'm doing a 40g build with a sump and am wondering if I need a refugium. I'll have a skimmer and plan to keep softies, LPS and SPS. It will not be an ultra-low nutrient setup. I know nothing about refugiums so any and all suggestions are welcome!

 

[shollis2814]

I modified a large HoB filter into a fuge and put some Chaeto in there on my 36 borfront. I loved it. I could tell a difference in water clarity. My setup had some disadvantages, and I took it down for two main reasons:

• I use an overflow in an undrilled tank. I have my sump marked for margin of error in case of power outage. I had it worked out on my fuge, too, but realized if my sump return pump fails, and the fuge keeps going, I am going to have a mess as the fuge would feed back into the main tank and that would eventually end up in the sump and overflow into my living room.
  
• The HoB had baffles and even a bottom chamber walled off from the main part of the fuge. Getting gobies and blennies out of there that decided to ride the siphon tube was a pain.

If you can get one, I really liked a fuge and I hope to figure out a way to get mine back once I get a contingency plan for pump failure.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Ideally you want some means of exporting nitrates and phosphates. A refugium is an easy way to do this by growing some type of algae.

But you could do this by using other means:

1. Water changes
2. Biopellets
3. Algae scrubber
4. Denitrification system (Natureef, as an example)

So Yes, you can run a system without a refugium. But, even if you only have a little extra room in the sump, it's so easy to throw a little light in there and some cheato, and you're now off and running.

 

[glb]

Thanks everyone. I'm building a compartment for one so I'll have a choice later. I'll show pics when it's done!

 

[PatW]

A second benefit of a refugium is producing copepods. The algae in the refugium gets grazed by the pods. Some of the pods get swept into the display tank and serves as a constant source of live food.

 

[Sgt Jonny]

Yes you want a refugium/sump.
1. you want the added water volume
2. you want a place to hide equipment such as skimmer, heater, ATO, etc.
3. You can grow macro algae to help export nutrients, or run a reactor with carbon/GFO.

I built 1 out of a 30 gallon tank I got on Craig's list for $10.00 bucks.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Yes you want a refugium/sump.
1. you want the added water volume
2. you want a place to hide equipment such as skimmer, heater, ATO, etc.
3. You can grow macro algae to help export nutrients, or run a reactor with carbon/GFO.

I built 1 out of a 30 gallon tank I got on Craig's list for $10.00 bucks.

It's my understanding that the sump is already there. The OP queried whether it was necessary to have a refugium.

 

[jetmaker]

I modified a large HoB filter into a fuge and put some Chaeto in there on my 36 borfront. I loved it. I could tell a difference in water clarity. My setup had some disadvantages, and I took it down for two main reasons:

• I use an overflow in an undrilled tank. I have my sump marked for margin of error in case of power outage. I had it worked out on my fuge, too, but realized if my sump return pump fails, and the fuge keeps going, I am going to have a mess as the fuge would feed back into the main tank and that would eventually end up in the sump and overflow into my living room.
  
• The HoB had baffles and even a bottom chamber walled off from the main part of the fuge. Getting gobies and blennies out of there that decided to ride the siphon tube was a pain.

If you can get one, I really liked a fuge and I hope to figure out a way to get mine back once I get a contingency plan for pump failure.

Float switch on the pump so if power comes on it wont start the pump.

 

[glb]

It's my understanding that the sump is already there. The OP queried whether it was necessary to have a refugium.

I do have the sump tank but it's a new build so I haven't put in the dividers yet. I want to plan everything out ahead of time to avoid problems.

 

[Tru REEF]

We try to make our reefs as close to natural as possible and a mile or 2 from every reef is a algae/seaweed garden (our refuge) its just a natural filter and u can get by with or without it, but i vote. Yes go with one its more pros to it than cons.

 

[glb]

So it seems that the only downside is the space it takes. What kind of light does everyone use?

 

[Epicreefster]

I run an algae turf scrubber, basically a modified refugium aimed at nutrient removal. I would recommend looking up the Triton method, as it is the only source I have seen that gives a recommendation on refugium design. Basically it recommends 1/5th tank volume as your refugium volume, and 10x tank volume flow through the refugium, as well as 1 watt/tank gallon of fluorescent lighting. This is more than I have seen most people run but I believe it is a big reason why their method works for sps as nutrients are a big issue for them.

Here is my setup a turf scrubber about 10x10" with two 10w leds and one 23w compact fluorescent. I run about 700-1000 gph over it and it runs a 50g tank. It's still a work in progress but sps growth is about 1/4" in the first month and I have no algae in tank, feeding 1/2 tsp of very high protein dry food via auto feeder and running about 0.5 no3 and 0.03 po4. I would recommend 1-2 compact fluorescent 23w bulbs, if you undersize lighting you reduce the functionality of the refugium

 

[glb]

If I wanted to use chaeto, do I just buy a ball and add some light? I'd rather use led's for less heat. I live in south Florida so the less added heat the better.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Yes, you can use LED's. However, what's important is that you want a kelvin of 5000 to 6500. Also, I don't know the size of your sump/refugium, but to pick a number, 9 to 15 watts. This bulb and a clip on fixture can all be had at Home Depot of Lowes.

Also, if you know a local reefer with chaeto, I'm sure they would give you some for free. Remember, you end up throwing out a clump every couple of weeks/months.

 

[Tru REEF]

Yea just by a ball of it and throw it in. You can even put 5 strings in and with time it'll be a ball of chaeto

 

[glb]

Yes, you can use LED's. However, what's important is that you want a kelvin of 5000 to 6500. Also, I don't know the size of your sump/refugium, but to pick a number, 9 to 15 watts. This bulb and a clip on fixture can all be had at Home Depot of Lowes.

Also, if you know a local reefer with chaeto, I'm sure they would give you some for free. Remember, you end up throwing out a clump every couple of weeks/months.

The sump is 20g and the refugium will be about 6-7g of that. Does that fixture run an led light?

 

[glb]

Yes, you can use LED's. However, what's important is that you want a kelvin of 5000 to 6500. Also, I don't know the size of your sump/refugium, but to pick a number, 9 to 15 watts. This bulb and a clip on fixture can all be had at Home Depot of Lowes.

Also, if you know a local reefer with chaeto, I'm sure they would give you some for free. Remember, you end up throwing out a clump every couple of weeks/months.

You just grab a clump and pull it out?

 

[redfishbluefish]

You just grab a clump and pull it out?

Yep!

 

[glb]

Yep!

I'm guessing to export the nitrates in it. So you leave some and then more grows, right?

 

[redfishbluefish]

The sump is 20g and the refugium will be about 6-7g of that. Does that fixture run an led light?

Yep! This particular one is rated 75W incandescent.....but that's because of heat. So an LED would work just fine.