Super Confuesed About Refugium!?.

[WatchinFish]

hey guys im about to build a refugium but im super confuesed on a few things. the fisrt is will my sump make a good refugium? it has mud, livesand, and LR in it. a nother thing is how do i get the little critters from the fuge to the main tank. my LFS told me it would be able to go thru my return pump but i cant see that happening because i have spounges inbetween the baffels that they would have to go through wich means they would have to be rediculasly small critters. oh and whats up with harvesting. im really confuesed and any info would help me so much. thanks RS family.

[BigAl07]

A sump "CAN" become a refugium but generally speaking the "fuge" has a lot slower flow through it than your whole return system. You will get pods & critters from your fuge up through the pump into the display tank. It's really shocking how MANY make that trip with no harm. Granted the HUGE adult ones will stay in the sponges (which we suggest you not really use but...) the small ones will make it.

[BigAl07]

On another note...

usually your sump (not always though) is a bare bones type of tank... it's where you put equipment and other goodies so they don't make your display tank look bad. The mud, Live Sand and Live Rock are what's usually found in a Fuge with less water movement than your return pump for the whole system.

[WatchinFish]

i see. that helps a lot. i mean i dont have any room for a seperate refug so if i was to use my sump do you recomend removing that spounge. i feel like it slows the flow a little wich i guess would be good but would keep the big critters from going though it. and also could i pick up the big ones with a small mesh net. and know anything about harvesting? such as how often and were to keep the things harvested. thanks a lot by the way AL. i cant count how many things you have helped me with since i joined RS.

[BigAl07]

Well all I can tell you is how I would approach it and let you decide for yourself.

I have almost stopped using sponges and filter media totally. I used it for a long time but with it comes a chore that MUST be adhered to... you must clean/replace the sponges VERY often. In my Nano-cube at work it has to be replaced every 3-4 days or it starts slowly clogging. what happens is this "clogged material" starts breaking down VERY quickly (very efficient bacteria in the sponge) and it will cause your Nitrates to soar through the roof. I just find that once the tank is set up and stable all this "media" is useless and basically a ticking time bomb just waiting for the WORSE possible time to go off (the morning before Vacation or that ALL important meeting you're giving with your V/P there to review you). It's just not worth the risk.

I think your system will function better without the media but that's only a guess from some guy 100's if not 1000's of miles away sitting in an office looking at my 12g Nanocube here on my desk. All you can do is experiment and see what works best for your system. We all do our "thang" a little differently.

and you're VERY welcome and thanks for saying the kind words. I love to give back when/if I can.

[WatchinFish]

you know i put the sponges in to prevent bubble flowing into my return pipe(LFS told me to do that), but honestly i havnt seen a bubble at all since i set up hte sump almoast a year ago. so i belive im going to take out the sponges when i get home. oh and i totaly get what you mean when you say build up of gunk that clogs stuff. i have filter floss in my overflow to reduce sound but i get annoyed of how often i have to repace it. any ideas on how to keep the system quiet without that crap? that would save me from growing some white hairs.

[BigAl07]

Not a clue bro!! It's a delicate balance that I sometimes DON'T achieve I resolve it with "Surround Sound"

[lcstorc]

LOL, often bubbles and sound as well as flow issues can be addressed by appropriate baffles in the sump. Ideally you have a separate sump and fuge but many people do not have that luxery so they build a fuge component into the sump. There are many ways to accomplish this but the key is that you want slw flow though the fuge and you want a ligt on the fugel

[cbrownfish]

If you are looking to provide some additional places where pods can proliferate, use live rock rubble (pebble size up to golf ball size). Take a plastic basket, container with holes or similar, fill it with live rock rubble, and add it into a compartment in the sump. This will in effect be a "refugium". By definition, a refugium is a predator-free place where microfauna can grow. No light needed, unless you include algae.

[blue_eyes53813]

Very good idea cbrownfish.... Live rock in the sump,rubble, shells etc.. anything pods can get in or under and get out of the flow will def. help..

I think Lynn was referring to light being needed if macro algae is used.. No light is needed though if it is being used for mainly pod population.

[WatchinFish]

wow this forum is full of geniuses. this is why i love RS. well i have a compartment in my sump that is seperate from my protien skimmet, inlet and also my return pump. and i have an idea of how to make my flow slow enough to work. but here is a new question. ok so i have 3 big peices of liverock in there. do you think i should also throw in some rubble as well or the 3 peices should be enough. oh and sorry for being repetitive but can anyone explain to me about when i would have to harvest and how i would go about doing so. thanks guys.

[blue_eyes53813]

Some rubble in there would be good too. You can watch it and see if the pods accumulate and make changes as needed... What do you mean Harvest? harvest what???

[reefsurf]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

Well all I can tell you is how I would approach it and let you decide for yourself.

I have almost stopped using sponges and filter media totally. I used it for a long time but with it comes a chore that MUST be adhered to... you must clean/replace the sponges VERY often. In my Nano-cube at work it has to be replaced every 3-4 days or it starts slowly clogging. what happens is this "clogged material" starts breaking down VERY quickly (very efficient bacteria in the sponge) and it will cause your Nitrates to soar through the roof. I just find that once the tank is set up and stable all this "media" is useless and basically a ticking time bomb just waiting for the WORSE possible time to go off (the morning before Vacation or that ALL important meeting you're giving with your V/P there to review you). It's just not worth the risk.

I think your system will function better without the media but that's only a guess from some guy 100's if not 1000's of miles away sitting in an office looking at my 12g Nanocube here on my desk. All you can do is experiment and see what works best for your system. We all do our "thang" a little differently.

and you're VERY welcome and thanks for saying the kind words. I love to give back when/if I can.

so al, you removed the filters in the overflow compartment of your 12 nano? if so what do you use there? thanks for the piggyback.....pm me if you will please

[cbrownfish]

Rubble, rubble, rubble. You need tons of nooks and crannies where pods can hide and breed. Large rocks force pods to stay in holes. A fairly tight packed rubble pile is ideal.

No need to "harvest" the pods. As long as water is flowing through that area, many tiny pods will travel with the flow. My fuge and sump are loaded with pods.....they end up throughout the system.

[rmlevasseur]

Is your skimmer in your sump? If so you will skim out half the good guys. External fuge 10x better. Plus I would not DARE throw chaeto in my sump for fear my pumps would suck it up.