Refugiums necessary?

[jun]

Refugiums necessary? goin to DIY my 2ft tank into a sump, but dun koe want to add a Refugiums in it...what u guys think?

[jervismun]

There are various methods of nutrients control... Refugium being one of them. There are pros and cons and it will take a long long time to really understand the system. But generally there are 4 types of nutrients (esp. Nitrate and Phosphate) reductor:

1) Refugium with the right type of macroalgae and etc.

2) Gadgets... Nitratreductor, FR, all sorts... the list will go on and on...

3) Don't bother... just invest in a super protein skimmer and avoid overfeeding

4) Rely solely on water change... every week without fail (of course the above will also require water change along the way... but in a much reduced scale)

I am currently using method (2) as my tank doesn't come with a sump and I try not to maintain too many tanks in my study room. To me, Refugium can be a fun thing at the beginning, but once they matured and overgrown, they can be pretty messy... imagine all the activites going on inside it... some reefers also find their Refugium particularly useful for keeping unwanted/undesirable LS that can harm the corals in the main tank.

If I am to start a Refugium today... it will be of 1 reason (only). That is its ability to help maintain pH at night. pH is highly dependent on photosynthesis period to help maintain a high and healthy level (say 8.1 to 8.3)... once the lights are off, the pH will slowly drop to 7.9 in the middle of the night... sometimes even 7.8! By turning on the lights of your refugium at night, the Refugium will balance the night effect of the main tank. Of couse some reefers will leave the lights on 24/7 but for me, the alternate method makes more sense if maintaining stable pH is crucial to you.

Hope this helps!!!

Haha... it's funny someone without a refugium can give advice on setting up a refugium!!!

[jun]

Refugium with only deep sand bed ...can?

just DSB only needs any lightings?

[pop]

Refugium with only deep sand bed ...can?

just DSB only needs any lightings?

If u are not growing any macro algae in it... i dun think lighting are necessary. IMHO, do have some LR in the sump. Pods will eventually multiply in there if there are no predators.

[blueheaven]

Take note that sandbeds need a lot of maintenance (that's a common misconception that you can just leave it there).

I've written some articles on it here so do a search for them.

A refugium is a good place to grow pods and provide some nutrient control for your system and it can be used to house sick fish too.

It is not necessary but you should consider having one!!

[jasongo11]

i have a spare canister filter. Can I use it as a "refugium". I intend to put in DSB and live rocks only. No lights n marco algae. Just to increase water volume and biological filtration.

Will it be of significant difference?

[blueheaven]

I doubt it will make a significant difference and besides, a canister cannot fill enough rocks and it is even more inapropriate for a DSB

[acidjazz]

I doubt it will make a significant difference and besides, a canister cannot fill enough rocks and it is even more inapropriate for a DSB

nice to see u again mate.

[tigershark]

good if u could have it... increase ur overall water volumn and reduce fluctuation of water chemestry when something happen in your tank....

[lyz77]

I will go for refugium with macro algae as I feel that it's able to aborsb the nutrients and reduce nitrate more effectively. As for DSB, it need to be done properly, else, it will be a time bomb and once it fails, it may crash your tank!

Juz my 0.02 cents!!!