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First Refugium

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jamesonwhiskey

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I did some searches on here but could only find scattered info on setting up a refugium. I have a 54 gal with 10g sump and want to buy a hang on back refugium and hang it off my sump.

I can get some free macro algae from a neighbor but other than that I'm kinda lost. My main goal is to help balance PH overnight, grow macro to help with nitrates and breed pods for my Mandarin.

A note on my Mandarin: I have about 25 lbs of live rock in my tank and have had the Mandarin for almost 6 months and he's nice and fat. I only added pods to my tank once about a month ago, I started feeding frozen about a month before that. Up until then I only fed pellets so either I have enough pods on my LR (although I never see any on the glass or rocks) or he's not picky at all.

Do I need refugium mud?
Should I add hermits, turbos or nassarius?
Everyone says just get a "home-depot" light for the macro... do they mean one of those lights thats just a 60W bulb in a metal fixture?
What else do I need?
What would you need to build your own hang-on back refugium? Anything more than the tank, pump and light?
Do I need to feed the pods or inverts?

What are the steps? Should I wait before adding mud, macro or pods?
How will the pods get into the tank? Do I have to manually collect them?
Will they last or do I need to add more on occasion? Should I feed my tank less now since the fish will eat some pods?

As you can see, I have a ton of questions :)
 
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James983

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You will need a healthy amount of macros to keep you PH from bouncing, not sure a hang on type will suffice for a 54 gal. tank. They also tend to be narrow and deep which is not ideal.

You would be better off setting up a small tank as a fuge. You will most likely need 3 chambers, chamber one-water from tank, chember two-fuge, chamber three-return pump.
 
J

jamesonwhiskey

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I really don't have room for anything that big which is why I was thinking of the hang-on back idea... it's only 4" wide but they are expensive. I was considering making my own but I might just buy this now. It has to fit next to my sump un the stand and I have a corner bow so the stand space is tight.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3618

Then I'm thinking:
Mud on the bottom... can anyone recommend a good one? How deep should it be?

and then small chunks of LR on top of that... are small chunks from my tank ok or should it be more like rubble/gravel sized pieces? (My live sand bed is 4" deep in the tank)

What kind of macro should I go with (mangrove, caulerpa, etc)? Can I put more than 1 type in the 'fuge? Any issues/benefits?

Still have lots of question about pods that I posted above :)
 
Last edited:
beerfish

beerfish

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Manhattan Reefs
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Franklin Lakes, NJ
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jamesonwhiskey said:
Do I need refugium mud?
Should I add hermits, turbos or nassarius?
Everyone says just get a "home-depot" light for the macro... do they mean one of those lights thats just a 60W bulb in a metal fixture?
What else do I need?
What would you need to build your own hang-on back refugium? Anything more than the tank, pump and light?
Do I need to feed the pods or inverts?

What are the steps? Should I wait before adding mud, macro or pods?
How will the pods get into the tank? Do I have to manually collect them?
Will they last or do I need to add more on occasion? Should I feed my tank less now since the fish will eat some pods?

As you can see, I have a ton of questions :)
Click to expand...

Ok... I have a little more time now, so I can address some of the specific questions.

I'm a big fan of Miracle Mud, and while it's a bit expensive, pods seem to really love the stuff. They provide pretty good directions on how to add it to the system and when to change it.

If you look at the CPR refugiums, the lights that they come with are basically what you're looking for. You want something directed at the fuge, without too much light escaping into the tank.

Avoid snails. In a small fuge, even one snail can do too much cleaning.

As far as building one goes, you're probably better off talking to some of the acrylic guys on the board. Look at the CPR ones and see if it may be cost effective to buy one, or at least use them as a model for your own.

There's no need to feed the pods, and they'll make it to the tank on their own. After a few weeks, you'll probably notice some of your fish hanging out near the outlet. Once they realize that treats come out there, they tend to stay close. Don't feed less, the pods will help the mandarin, but will be a snack for most of the fish.

Cheato is probably the best all around algae. It's basically worry free and does a good job removing nutrients and housing pods. Caluepera is amazing, but comes at a higher maintenance cost to avoid it 'going sexual'.
 
J

jamesonwhiskey

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Manhattan Reefs
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Rockville Centre, NY
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Any thoughts on the Miracle Mud bed thickness? They don't recommend anything as far as I can see...

So I know the tank, light, mud and some LR chunks. The tank comes with a pump and I have some tubing to extend if necessary. Once I'm up and running I can get the chaeto and some pods (Tigger... or do you have another suggestion?).

Sounds like I'm all set... unless I'm missing something?
 
beerfish

beerfish

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Manhattan Reefs
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Franklin Lakes, NJ
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jamesonwhiskey said:
Any thoughts on the Miracle Mud bed thickness? They don't recommend anything as far as I can see...

So I know the tank, light, mud and some LR chunks. The tank comes with a pump and I have some tubing to extend if necessary. Once I'm up and running I can get the chaeto and some pods (Tigger... or do you have another suggestion?).

Sounds like I'm all set... unless I'm missing something?
Click to expand...

You want the mud to be 1"-2" thick. A bit higher is fine though. Don't waste money on pods. Get someone here to sell / give you a baseball sized chunk of cheato, and it will probably be loaded with enough pods to get you started.
 
J

jamesonwhiskey

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Manhattan Reefs
Location
Rockville Centre, NY
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Ok, I got everything setup this past weekend... I used this as a chance to take apart my sump, clean everything and rearrange it a little better. I'll put up some pics this weekend.

Got a few questions:

I dumped some pods into the fuge once it was up and running but I don't see any in the chaeto. I guess they're pretty small... should I be able to see them though? Do I need to feed the fuge?

I have to get a timer for the light for my chaeto so right now I've been leaving it on 24 hours. I've read this is ok to keep culpera from going sexual so I'm thinking it should be ok for chaeto too.

My chaeto floats at the top of the water... is this ok or should I weight it down with a piece of LR?
 
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