How should I set up my refugium?

by **newbie916** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:41 am

Hey guys,

Again, thanks for all of the tips and I'm going to take your advice on setting up a refugium under my main tank. I have a Tru Vu Platinum Prof. Filtration Series Sump. It has three partitions. The left has my protein skimmer with the filtration sock behind it with my intake from the main tank. The second partition is where I believe I could set up my refugium. It's approximately 15 gallons in size and the water goes over a acrylic slab with a bunch of holes in it. The water then trickles over the bio balls and enters into the third partition with the return pump. The second partition also has a lid on it. The guy who I bought the sump from told me that I should eventially set up a refugium in it.

What would be the first step?

Buy the live sand, live rock, and lighting system? What kind of light should I buy for the refugium? Also, what should I do with the bio balls and do I need to cycle the live rock and live sand before I add it to my refugium? I really appreciate the teams expertise and hopefully I can help some other newbie one of these days.

newbie 916

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:57 am

That 15g section would be perfect for a refugium.

Don't buy "live sand". It's a waste of money. Just buy dry aragonite sand. The so called live sand may or may not have some bacteria in it that is still alive but bacteria alone, does not live sand make.

A refugium does not necessarily need sand at all. Depends on what you want. If you want a remote deep sand bed without having it in the display, some opt to have it in the refugium and use 6-8inches of sand. Live rock/rubble is optional as well. If you use a macroalgae like Chaetomorpha, it will work better without rock as it grows better when it is allowed to roll and tumble without interference of the rock. If you choose to use Xenia, then you will definitely want rock for the Xenia to attach and grow on.

Any good amount of live rock you add should be cured live rock. You don't want a lot of die off polluting an established tank. If it stinks, cure it.

Get rid of the bio balls. Period. Bio balls have no place in a system with enough live rock and sand. They had a purpose before the Berlin method but not after.

by **fihsboy** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:17 pm

Check out mine.....All i have is a crushed coral substrate to help buffer the ph and calcium, I have a ton of chateo algae a few rocks......which are down there for just now....I have a mangrove tree growing in there and some shore grass....I went to the beach last weekedend and grabed the grass and the mangrove, just a benefit of living 30 minutes from the beach :)

by **newbie916** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:39 pm

Appreciate the help. I will look into setting up a deep sand bed with some cured live rock and Xenia. Maybe a mangrove tree because I also read that is a great nitrate reducer. I've heard a lot of bad things about the bio balls and I will take those out as soon as I get my refugium up and running or should I just take them out now?

What kind of light should I get for the refugium and should I put any critters like hermits, snails, etc.?

Should I get 15lbs or 20lbs of cured live rock?

Thanks Schigara and fihsboy!! It must be nice living 30 min from the beach:) I live in Sacramento and the closest beach is 90 min away in San Francisco, not a place where I would get anything to add to my tank:) The water is too cold and too many toxins in the water.

newbie916

by **fihsboy** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:37 am

Bummer about the beach, here its pretty much beach day about twice a week, only thing thats not cool is you can drive on the beach.........which makes for not soo good sand. Water tests out pretty nice.......and its easy to get critters for free as well as macro algae. From what I have read.......your not supposed to put critters down there, but im not sure. If your going with the chaeto algae which is really good due to it doesnt realese toxins, it grows rapidly, takes in a ton of nutrients and it can be controlled very easily. Now it looks like a green brillo pad......which isnt the most attractive but it works. Im working on putting some regular uncured live rock in my hospital tank. I have heard..........if you just let the rock grow..........and dont put ANYthing in it and just do regular water changes.......it will grow algae you never thought possible. I have never tried it so im not sure. I want mine to look like the pictures on the box for the store bought refugiums. Those are gorgeous and near impossible. :) Worth a shot though. Right now, I have a standard 10 watt coralife light over my refugium all day and off at night. So far so good. Overall.........the Berlin method of filtration works better than either the ehiem canister or the hagen HOB I have tried. Bio balls..........Do you have live rock? If you do take them out but do it slowly maybe 25% every two or three days....You dont want to shock your bacteria culture. That would be bad.

by **newbie916** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:01 am

I have 125lbs of live rock and 100 lbs of live sand in my 100 gallon. I bought a chaeto ball and put it in my tank until I get my refugium set up. Unfortunately, I took out my bio balls yesterday cuz everyone I spoke with said my live rock and sand should be able to sustain the beni bacteria. I went to my LFS and she pointed something out that I didn't think of. When I originally transferred the rock, sand, and animals to my tank, I put the sand in first on put the rock on top of it. She told me that, that's what's probably causing my nitrate problems. I spent the last 6 hrs after work taking all of my live rock out and moving all of my sand forward. Then replacing the rock at the bottom of the tank and leaving the sand in the front. It looks a little ugly right now, but she said that the powerheads and the flow will naturally lay the sand around my rocks. She said that it should solve my nitrate problem. I'm still going to set up the refugium, but hopefully my nitrates will drop below 40ppm. It's been up to 100ppm. I'm surprised my critters are still alive. Anyways, thanks for the info and I'll keep you updated.

newbie916

by **fihsboy** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:24 am

Wow your nitrates are high....I didnt realize you were facing that big of a problem. Im guessing the die off under the rocks is what caused it to stay there due to the sand? I had to do the same thing though, for stability reasons, rocks are soo much more stable with a little sand around them instead of under. Who would have thought. :) Hope all goes well with your tank!

How should I set up my refugium?

7 posts