jun Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jervismun Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 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!!! Quote Tank 60x40x40 Optiwhite Glass Tank Sump Elos 500 w/ Tunze Overflow Protein Skimmer Skimz Kone SK1 Return Pump Hydor Seltz L30 Wavemaker Hydor K1 Illumination 150W + 2 T5 Chiller Arctica 1/5hp w/ Aquabee 1000 Water Top-up Tunze Osmolator Dosing Pumps Grotech 3-Channels Calcium Reactor Deltec PF 501 Computer Aquatronica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jun Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Refugium with only deep sand bed ...can? just DSB only needs any lightings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member pop Posted June 13, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted June 13, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueheaven Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 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!! Quote But if you tame me, we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world... You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery Keep our hobby sustainable, participate in fragging NOW CHAETO Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasongo11 Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueheaven Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 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 Quote But if you tame me, we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world... You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery Keep our hobby sustainable, participate in fragging NOW CHAETO Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidjazz Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 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. Quote 300 Gallon Reef Paradise 6X2.5X2.5 FT Tank : 4x2x2 ft sump : 2x1x2 ft refugim Skimmer: Deltec AP851 Calcium Reactor: Lightings: Aqualight T5 Retrofit, 150 watt MH X2 Chiller: Hailea HC-500A model w/ Aquabee 2000 Ozonizer: Hailea HLO-300 Digital ozonizer Wavemaker: Tunze 6080, Tunze 6060 Return Pumps: Aquabee 5000 x2 Other equipments: Aquabee 2000, Quietone 1200, 5L Co2 Cylinder w/ Dupla regulator American Marine Wireless Thermometer Reefing is a dedication, not a competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member tigershark Posted June 19, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted June 19, 2006 good if u could have it... increase ur overall water volumn and reduce fluctuation of water chemestry when something happen in your tank.... Quote Want to know more about my tank? Follow here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member lyz77 Posted June 20, 2006 SRC Member Share Posted June 20, 2006 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!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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