Refugium stocking questions

[Electrobes]

Hey everyone, talk about a rough time with this hobby! In a short story, basically after oing 3 years of freshwater ran into no issues except for algae, I do reef with an expert friend and... first got planaria (white none the less!) and then had to use exit worm. Then my tank, the one time I wasn't home blew a seam and leaked out. Got a new tank, set everything up again, and then went home... to get a call that the overflow quit for some reason and my tank was squirting out water from some mystical part of the main display. None the less I have now reset everything up from scratch and here I am now with a 37G main display, with a 15 gallon rough neck refugium, and an auto top-off right next to it, all under the stand.

My question is whether sand (I have live) is necessary to have in the refugium? I have a monster chaeto algae growing, and is with a lot of rock (not necessarily rubble, but much bigger chunks, and at this moment in time has a level of sand). I want to take out the sand because it is interfering with the return pump when I ahve to change something in the refugium, or when I need to work on the machinery in there.

Another question is about the use of my protein skimmer. I used to have a protein skimmer running off of a maxi-jet 1200. Though I understand this is a large debate any opinion is fine. I don;t like the protein skimmer, though it does do its job, its clunky, old, and more importantly is just in the way. I took it out and used the powerhead in the mian display, giving my main tank 2 maxi-900's and a 1200 for water movement. I was going to use the water change method and run carbon every now and then which I hear is successful. What do you all think of this method as opposed to having the skimmer in the refugium? thanks

[ReefLady]

[Tarasco]

Originally posted by Electrobes
None the less I have now reset everything up from scratch

Wow, what a pain. At least you're still trying! Don't give up!

Originally posted by Electrobes
My question is whether sand (I have live) is necessary to have in the refugium?

No. People use the sand in the refugium as a deep sand bed, for better filtration and nitrate reduction. However, it is definitely not necessary. Seems like yours is doing great with chaeto growth and the rock in there, so feel free to take the sand out.

Originally posted by Electrobes
What do you all think of this method as opposed to having the skimmer in the refugium?

Well, I wouldn't have had the skimmer in the refugium. I would have put it before the water gets to the refugium, so that it would be more effective (this is up for debate as well). However, depending on the bioload of your tank, it's perfectly acceptable to go skimmerless. People do it all the time without ill effects. I would just make sure that you don't overstock and overfeed. Good luck!