power heads in the fuge

[lcstorc]

Might as well chime in on this one. I have a separate tank for the fuge and a separate tank for a sump. I did it this way so I could regulate the flow throuhg the fuge since low flow through the fuge seems to be the polular opinion. What I found was that there was hardly any movement at all towards the bottom of the fuge. This allowed detrius etc to settle on the bottom and my cheato was not tumbling or growing at all.
So I decided to try adding a powerhead. I added a MJ 550. This improvd things dramatically. Now I can cultivate cheato in there but the flow from the fuge to the sump is nice an slow the wau I wanted it.

[prow]

Originally Posted by kathywithbirds

Interesting thread. I have my fuge light on 24/7, no PH. Growth is OK. There's some HA on the top. I occasionally trim all of it and give it to the tang. Maybe I'll try lights off during the day and a teeny PH.

kinda off topic but.... kathy, are you growing caulerpa? i only ask because running 24/7 lighting is not the best thing for growing macros. usually 24/7 lighting is used for caulerpa in a effort to prevent it from going sexual. but if your growing cheato a dark period would be a good thing, reverse lighting will help with your ph swings aswell.

its funny i was looking for the original thread when this came up and found woody made it a sticky, how cool is that, easy to find now anyway give this a read, maybe you will change up your lighting some after

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...to-period.html

[Octoman]

I just put an MJ600 in the fuge today. The chaeto growth had slowed and it was just sitting stagnant on the bottom. Cyano was slowly taking over and it was frustrating trying to provide adequate circulation from the line that comes into the fuge. Now I've got a nice slow flow coming in and the MJ is gently stirring the chaeto. Hopefully I'll have some good results soon! I'll report back...

[framerguy]

I'll report back...

Thanks..I'm very interested in knowing!

[cracker]

I installed this "break" today. Got the idea from a pic from Boozeman.

the verticle pipe above the Tee is open. I can see the flow is blowing across the bottom & rising up on the opposite side. When I 1st turned it on it blew a lot of Junk up off the bottom. I still get a lot of bubbles entering but much less salt spray. We will see how it goes.

[BigAl07]

So you're putting all the flow down into the bottom of the fuge now right? I'm anxious to hear more!! Makes sense in ONE way but not in another.. ha ha ha

[cracker]

Before the water just dumped straight down an inch or so under the surface.

I had real poor circulation & the salt spray was killing me. This greatly cut back on all the salt spray caused by the bubbles popping right at the surface. I have a bottom to top, counter clockwise circular current I didn't have before. I "think" it was a big improvement overall, but we will have to see.

[BigAl07]

I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Just extend my outlet down to the bottom of the tank. This should give the same "circular" flow.

[cracker]

Allen, It seems to be working fine. It is more quiet & again it cut way back on the salt spray. That alone was worth it! I thought the water would back up a little in the drain because the outlet was down under the water like that. If it does it's minimal. I like the current it creates. It might stir up a sand bed though. I'm just testing an alternative to adding a PH.

[BigAl07]

Yeah it sounds like a good idea. Not adding a PH is always good!

[framerguy]

I actually fed my refugium tonight. I don't do it often but I like to make sure the crabs and starfish don't starve. I couldn't believe the life that showed up the second the food hit the water. Bristle worms (which I've still not seen in the DT) came out and some very large pods came out to grab some food. I was surprised how large the pods were, some in excess of 1/4". I've also got lots of Stomatella snails which I transplanted some to the DT. Gail laughs at me when she catches me on my hands and knees watching the refugium...I don't care!

[tbittner]

Great idea, Cracker! Like you said though, it probably wouldn't be a good idea if you had a sand bed. I have a couple PH's sitting around. I think I'm going to stick one in my fuge and see if that helps conditions in there a bit. I have cyano on the walls of the tub. The bottom stays pretty clean, thanks to the CUC.

Greg, don't get in the habit of feeding the fuge though. You want those guys to eat all the cwap that comes down from the DT. And you don't want uneaten food to turn into nitrates.

I used to worry about the critters in the fuge but they have been in there for months now and I haven't seen any losses so they are getting plenty of food coming from the DT.

[framerguy]

It's not often..maybe once a week if I think of it. Believe me, there was not food wasted! It was cool to watch though.

[BigAl07]

I captured a BUNCH of pods tonight when harvesting some "Frag Rocks" and dropped them one by one into the display tank. Nemo didn't care and the cardinals went CRAZY! Yeah TONS of fuge life. I may build a POD palace (can't remember where I read that) and transport pods to the DT from the fuge occasionally.

I may do the "Fuge outlet lowering thingy" later this week.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by tbittner

Great idea, Cracker! Like you said though, it probably wouldn't be a good idea if you had a sand bed.

Grrr so since I have a DSB in the fuge I shouldn't drop my DT outlet lower into the fuge?

I have never fed my FUGE on my 10g but I'm pretty sure they get LOTS of food once the pumps kick back on. When I feed the DT and the pump kicks on I see my NASS snails in the fuge come up and "kick it in high gear".