Refugium Help

[noahwz]

I set up a refugium for my 90 gallon tank. Refugium is about 20 gallons when system is on so total about 110 gallon system.

Im running chaeto algae in my refugium and bare bottom. Originally i did not have a great light and have purchased a plant growth light and timer so i can set schedule for opposite light schedule as my main tank.

Currently in the refugium i have bare bottom but do have some bricks. I am wanting to switch to Sand or possibly Miracle Mud.

Is anyone able to tell me from experience if there is any true benefit to either?

 

[TX_REEF]

You should have enough surface area in your display to make the use of additional bio-media in your fuge unnecessary. If I were you, I'd leave the fuge bare-bottom, and if possible arrange the flow to cause the chaeto to tumble, ensuring all sides of the "ball" are lit equally, and preventing the buildup of detritus. The main goal of the fuge is generally nutrient export, and for that, you want to maximize the growth of your macroalgae / chaeto.

 

[Sumbub]

Miracle mud will add a good amount of minerals and trace elements to your system. It'll become a benthic zone for denitrifying bacteria.

Sand can become a benthic zone as well. It lacks some trace elements but can still be used.

 

[exnisstech]

I had a couple of inches of sand under my chaeto. It was full of worms and other critters. I was never able to get my chaeto to tumble so I just rolled it every once in a while. I kept mine as a refugium for critters. I found it poor at nutrient reduction but I had a larger system.

 

[kvansloo]

I do not run sand or mud in my refuge any longer. I have removed it all and put ceramic rings and balls in the refuge, and just put macroalgae on top of it. I also add Copepods, Amphipods ad now dose Phytoplankton.

 

[noahwz]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Had my UV running in my refugium in the sump and thought that maybe too much flow was my issue..... so i removed it and put in another compartment.

Had a really cheap LED light about 20 inches off the surface of the water.

Going to try to putting my UV back because it was actually very effective at getting my chaeto to tumble. Issue was it just wasnt growing. No dying either though.

Hoping the bricks i have on the bottom of the refug, chaeto on top, UV for tumble and light much closer to flood chaeto better will hopefully help get my chaeto to grow.

Should i wait to add copepods until my chaeto is large? or does it matter currently about the size of a softball.

 

[Sumbub]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Had my UV running in my refugium in the sump and thought that maybe too much flow was my issue..... so i removed it and put in another compartment.

Had a really cheap LED light about 20 inches off the surface of the water.

Going to try to putting my UV back because it was actually very effective at getting my chaeto to tumble. Issue was it just wasnt growing. No dying either though.

Hoping the bricks i have on the bottom of the refug, chaeto on top, UV for tumble and light much closer to flood chaeto better will hopefully help get my chaeto to grow.

Should i wait to add copepods until my chaeto is large? or does it matter currently about the size of a softball.

Sometimes chaeto takes a pause to growing. Other times it grows like a weed. You can add pods any time. Just stop the pumps before you do and give them an hour to settle in. Put some in the main and some in the fuge.

 

[exnisstech]

Should i wait to add copepods until my chaeto is large? or does it matter currently about the size of a softball.

I've never added pods to any of my systems and I have no shortage. They always find their way in naturally. Kind of like bristle worms and asterina stars.

 

[Webbed Feet]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Had my UV running in my refugium in the sump and thought that maybe too much flow was my issue..... so i removed it and put in another compartment.

Had a really cheap LED light about 20 inches off the surface of the water.

Going to try to putting my UV back because it was actually very effective at getting my chaeto to tumble. Issue was it just wasnt growing. No dying either though.

Hoping the bricks i have on the bottom of the refug, chaeto on top, UV for tumble and light much closer to flood chaeto better will hopefully help get my chaeto to grow.

Should i wait to add copepods until my chaeto is large? or does it matter currently about the size of a softball.

I am also pondering refugium ideas and practice. I have just yesterday spoken with a saltwater only LFS owner who uses Miracle Mud (MM)in all of his tanks and always has. Today I read on this forum everything from thumbs up to "meh" responses about it, seems to go with the territory of reef keeping on that. I am starting to believe that the reality of the benefits of the usage of mud type of processes will come down to "It Depends." Here are my thoughts about that so far.

MM or mud type "systems" came about as substitutes, or due to lack of, high quality Skimmers (you do not mention if you are or will be running one) for a process a called "foam fractionization" that is actually its own separate type of system for obtaining good water quality. Good water quality and benefits can be obtained through the use of mud type of systems for a ecosystem filter medium, but for your tank as per MM's own instructions to do that around 30 pounds of it is needed and when used without a Skimmer. Using this method it does seem there is good reason to believe there are many benefits including the avoidance or healing of head lateral line erosion disease (HLLE). Good if you like tangs and other species susceptible to the stress that causes it.

Supposedly MM adds minerals and trace elements good for your reef system, but is there a point to this if you are already, or will be, using another type of dosing system that is already do that? If you are, could adding MM throw off the balance of minerals and trace elements in a negative way? For me at this point on those two questions the answer is unknown. However, it does seem that copepods love the stuff and it certainly does something positive for them and their life/breeding cycle. So on that I ask, do we want to keep mandarins? Hmmm, could be a really large plus there.

Can MM be used with a skimmer system? Sure it can. But, as in my case and my tank is about the same size as yours's, there is no way at the moment I see using 30 pounds of the stuff. So now we have a mixed usage of skimming and reduced level of mud together, so what then? Well, it seems to be exactly what this pretty well informed and experienced LFS owner is doing. Given the reduction in amount of mud called for by the manufacturer I very much squint my eyes over the claimed HLLE benefits, BUT I do believe it would still be pretty good for copepods and additional biodiversity (never a bad thing) within the overall system. I do dose automatically with a system that takes care of trace elements for me and my corals are generally doing very, very, well. Will 5 pounds of MM goof any of that up? I suspect not as it will be 1/6th of what the manufacture calls for regarding the water volume. I would think there may be a short period while the system rebalances a little bit to it. I want a nice mandarin, copepods seem to love it, so do I foresee something bad from it? I do not think so.

One last thought. I read you have your ultraviolet light in your refugium (you like it for algae tumbling). I am sure you have not plumbed it to intake refugium water and then back to the refugium, but if you have it will kill your copepods and possibly other good stuff. Thought I should mention it just in case. I have mine plumbed with intake from the main display water before it hits the sump with a bypass so only a portion of the water from the main tank goes through it to allow some of the good things I would rather not sterilize to make it back to the sump.

Good reefing and I look forward to all the shared thoughts to come!!

 

[4roaming]

I found that chaeto grows so fast under blue and red led’s that it was stripping my tank of nutrients. My refugium is lit with a couple of tunze submersible lights. I had to reduce my photo period and add several large fish to keep my nitrate and po4 from bottoming out. I also am using a little miracle mud. Can’t say if it makes a difference but I was curious and finally decided to give it a try.