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Refugium- how can I benifit?

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Rlumenator

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Manhattan Reefs
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155 reef with uv and protein skimmer. 2 years plus old- light on fish, anticipate adding (3) tangs. The tank is built into a wall to be viewed on both sides. The space underneath, where a refuge could go is 30 ' wide x 30" high x 23 deep- this is where the skimmer is.. Some have said helps with HLLE, helps with algae in tank. Others say it should be like a display tank. I'm confused if (1) it will benefit the tank and in what way, and (2) is there enough room. Thank you, Dawn.
 
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Anonymous

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Refugiums has many benefits. Added water capacity. A place to grow macroalgae which has the effect of consuming nutrients from the water, thus making less nutrients available in your display. A place for critters to grow without the threat of predators. Some of these critters make their way back into the display tank which makes a natural food source for your fish. You could also have a DSB in your fuge that could be cleaned or replaced without making a mess out of your display tank.

As for HLLE, I got no idea.

As for space, it sounds like you have plenty of space. Does your skimmer have to go in the same space? If so, you might not have enough space.
 
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Anonymous

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Deep Sand Bed. I'm not saying you should have one. Do a search on DSB's. They were the rage for awhile. Some are now getting away from them.
 
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Anonymous

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If you're getting tangs, it would be a great place to grow food for them. You could put some ogo, gracillaria, or even calurpa for the tangs to eat.

The fuge could be any size container you want. (10 gallon tank, rubbermaid tub, old scratched up acrylic tank. anything that will hold water) Mine is built into my sump and hold Maybe a half gallon. But the cheato and calurpa I have in there grow like crazy! You just need to find a way to plumb it into your system, and get a light over it. Since you're just gowing algea, you could use old striplight bulbs, or get a clip light from HD and use any 'daylight' bulb.

B
 
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SnowManSnow

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For the most parts fuges are out of sight and act as the "factory" to your display tank. You can house your heaters, skimmers, all that stuff down there to get it out of the way of our display. LIke others have already stated you can also grow lots of pods and algae in there for your display.

Growing food is NOT the only benifit. It should also help with algae in your display tank. The reasoning is that you keep fast growing algae in your FUGE, and that algea sucks up the nutrients in a "contolled out of sight" bloom it keeps nutrients from causing a algae bloom in your DISPLAY tank.

You may also consider alternate lighting schedules with your main tank and your fuge or sump. This helps stabalize co2 lvls and the like which normally fluctuates a bit when the lights go out.

B.
 
C

cjsrch

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YOU dont benifit at all... YOUR AQUARIUM DOES.
cause likemsot of us you will start to skip a waterchange or two forget to do somthing. blablabla


refuge will help kep tank clean and also raise stuff that cant live in the nmain tank but sare benificial
 
C

cjsrch

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absolutly donot put a heater in the fuge!
it will hurt the algae and all that is inthere ( unelss you have nmore then one fuge compartment)

cause ublike you htink... turn a heater to 78 degrees the heater is not 78 degrees it is above 100. and 100 degrees in small area = bad idea

i burt my hand on my heater :) skin actualy stuck to it. it was almost as bad as touching a mh bulb
 
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KLGreene

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I'm actually putting together a new system now that will be a 120g display with a 55g display fuge. There will be a 10 gal (or more) sump between the two that will house the skimmer, heater, etc. A display fuge with the various macros a dsb or a shallow sb can be an attractive addition to your system. Plus all of the added benefits mentioned in earlier posts. I myself have a mandarin goby that will eat nothing but pods. The fuge will help to keep her fat and sassy by providing a nice place for the pods to reproduce. Not to mention you can keep a fish or two that you may like, but are not reef safe in the display fuge also.......JMTCW

Some of the preliminary pics can be seen on Saltcreep.com.......Members gallery. Check it out, it may give you an idea or two.
 
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cjsrch

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55 gallon fuge isnt it funny. i swear we alls tart with 55 mains and then the mains become a sump for another tank thats bigger. DANM THIS HOBBY!
sump btw means any point for water to collect. refuge wetdry or a as everyone calls them " sump" hmm using hte word to define a word lol

and as for your 10 gallon tank i would use a 20 long instead. that is what i did. ( wish i coulda gone with 55 gallons but im guessing since you said you wanted a 10 that you have limited space.
im scared of the baffles i gotta do. (( im sad at the thought of only having 20 gallons of water in side the 55 gallon tank
 
M

Mihai

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Dawn, the refugium is like a skimmer: the bigger the better. Even a 1-2 gallons refugium is vastly better than no refugium. You have plenty of space for the fuge. I think you should make one.

In ernest, there are many different reasons for getting a refugium - it depends on how you set it up. Some of the reasons are incompatible with each other. Here is a short list:
- to make live food for your display (essentially grow pods). In this case you want very coarse sand or crushed coral on the bottom, some live rock, or live rock rubble and some macro algae
- to serve as nutrient export, i.e., to grow macroalgae in it and throw them away in the garbage every week
- to grow macroalgae to feed your tangs
- to have a DSB - in this case you need deep (6"+) sand on the bottom
- to grow coral frags it in - no macroalgae in this case
- to grow seagrasses in it - another good habitat for growing pods, not as good for nutrient export though.

So, it depends on what your priorieties are. Most people stick some sand and macroalgae in and use it as pod factory and nutrient export.

Mihai
 
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