What can i put in "fuge" tank

[nickf06gli]

I have a 75 gallon with about 90lbs of LR, and CPR Aquatics sump, tonight I finished my project of the "Fuge" I have macro algae, and I added copepods, It has a 6 foot sand bed, and gravity feeds back into sump bypassing the filter, it is fed from the same location.

So what else can I add, this is going to be a working fuge, used for filtrtation, but if I can safely add inverts or fish, let me know

[cracker]

Sounds like You have a good start on a refugium. There are lot's of different ways & stuff You can put in one. A sandbed, some LR /rubble. macro,, maybe a simple cleanup crew of snails to mixup the top of the sand bed a bit but no sense in adding anything until the fuge matures a bit. Do You have some sort of lighting for the macro? What type of macro did you get?

[nickf06gli]

I used about a half gallon bag full of chaeto

[Varga]

Chaeto is the algae of choice for most people. I'd stay away from Capulera. you can also put soft corals in there, I have some rubble rock, kenya trees, xenia, and just ordered some toadstools. you an also put some mangroves just for fun

you dont really need to add any animals, they just appear on their own. I use 6500k bulbs from hardware store.

[lcstorc]

Live sand, live rock and cheato here. A couple of bad snails and crabs have been exiled to the fuge as well but nothing was purchased for it. Actually the only thing purchased for it was the sand and the light. The cheato came from a friend and the rock is base rock that has been in there about a year so I consider it live now.

[nickf06gli]

I had to exile the chocolate chip star, and a hermit crab today, they in for a life sentence, the star was eating on my soft coral

[nickf06gli]

Your fuge looks great, what size tank?

[framerguy]

Yep, chocolate chips are a no-no in a reef! You could probably trade it in for something cool. Xenia is a good refugium candidate for nutrient export. Stay away from Turbo snails as they eat macro algaes. Mithrax crabs also (emeralds) eat macro. Cerith snails are a good fuge animal, feather dusters also. Mangroves are easy and are effective at nutrient export and also remove toxins such as stuff from our hands when we put them in the water. In addition to the sand bed, I would add a shallow tray of crushed coral as a pod farm. You could sink a 2" deep tray into the sand so it is level with the surface of the sandbed or slightly above it. Pods can't navigate fine sand very well, but crushed coral is a haven for them. The shallow depth won't be a nitrate factory either. Even if it does produce some, they will be used almost immediately. Curly flourescent bulbs in a fixture is good lighting for a fuge. You don't have to use expensive lighting. One bulb per 1 1/2 feet of tank is good. You want good contact time through the refugium so a relatively slow flow is good, but you don't want stagnant water so a powerhead is a good thing to add to provide water movement...especially for Cheatomorpha which likes to tumble about.

HTH.

[burning2nd]

i would keep it empty and clean... maybe a few small rocks like that picture... but clean and detritus free...

export of anymacro is good

[nickf06gli]

will the 2 rather large, and hell raising hermit crabs eat the copapods?

[framerguy]

Originally Posted by nickf06gli

will the 2 rather large, and hell raising hermit crabs eat the copapods?

They will certainly eat some of them, but it is unlikely that two will deplete the population. If you are worried about it then you could put some kind of barrier over the pod "farm" such as a plastic strawberry basket.