75 gallon refugium setup ?? whats the perfect Combo?

[reefstinger]

OK , as you all know I have my 160 gal DT up and running after the transfer 6 weeks ago. down below in my basement is the 75 sump and my 75 gallon starter refugium. My question is what is the correct way to setup the refugium? right now it has 3 pieces of LR , its BB and has some cheto and flame algae in it. Oh not to mention my 3" yellow tang, It has a heater , power head and its a RR 75 tank, I have it connected to my total system. 1 in valved line as supply on one end and RR dual overflows draining into the sump.Now do i add a piece of egg crate on one end and keep the algae contained, then add dry sand/substrate in the bottom of the rest of it. ?? maybe 3 inches. here' a pic. Suggestions please. I don't think I need to add any Live sand in it or it will cycle my DT above.

 

[mustangcaleb]

imo, with that much room for fuge, i would incorporate a dsb, maybe a section of lr and cc for pods, and of course the macro algaes... but im no pro, just my 2 cents

 

[jef4y]

A couple bags of livesand or well rinsed dry sand won't cycle your tank above. Just take the fuge offline while you do it to prevent the dust storm. Personally, in my fuge I've always liked to have sand, some rock and tons of cheato. I tend to keep emerald crabs in there to keep the garbage cleaned a bit, but depending on your setup it may not be necessary.

Another option is to do an inch or so of seachem matrix on the bottom. Add chaeto, maybe some red algae and a few mangroves for good flair =)

 

[reefstinger]

Thanks for the replies. jefy, I think I will do it your way, sound sensible. i plan on adding a few jawfish to it later. Should I leave it off line for a month or two while the live sand gets established?

 

[legalreefer]

Agreed, mangroves if you have that large of a fuge. Besides they look cool!

 

[jef4y]

reefstinger;786169 wrote: Thanks for the replies. jefy, I think I will do it your way, sound sensible. i plan on adding a few jawfish to it later. Should I leave it off line for a month or two while the live sand gets established?

I wouldn't leave it off line for more than the time required to get the dust settled in the water. That would be the only reason I'd even take it offline to begin with, so that you don't have a cloud of stuff from the new sand.

As for jawfish, do your research. I've found them to be shortlived unless you maintain a low-temperature tank (think 72'ish) and cover it as they are jumpers.

 

[reefstinger]

Thanks , great info Guys, were can i get mangroves? and does the top part of the leaves need to be out of the water? Jef , how bout some cool engineer gobies? or will they stir up the sand too much in the fuge?

 

[jef4y]

reefstinger;786238 wrote: Thanks , great info Guys, were can i get mangroves? and does the top part of the leaves need to be out of the water? Jef , how bout some cool engineer gobies? or will they stir up the sand too much in the fuge?

Mangroves, you can get them from other reefers or sometimes a sponsor. They're not super rare, but not as prevalent as say chaeto.

Yes, the top leaves need to stay out of the water and you'll need to wipe them down to get the salt creep off of them every now and again.

Some people use Styrofoam to keep them floating. Ultimately it doesn't matter just so the leaves are out.

Mangroves definitely aren't the best for nutrient export, but they are pretty to look at.

As for a fish or two in the fuge, go for it, just make sure they can't clog the outlet.

 

[reefstinger]

Thanks good info.

 

[reefstinger]

ok , now i need to use egg crate and section off the algae, which end is recommended, I plan on cutting a piece the inside diameter of the tank , planting it in the sand to the bottom. If i section off the left side were the flow will come into the tank it will turn the algae over, so is this the best way to keep most of the algae contained.

 

[eagle9252]

this pic was taken back in May but it's pretty much the same for now before I change it. have not decided yet on how i want to do it.

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[reefstinger]

ok , I think i will have to takedown this supposed to be fuge and add baffles to it unless there is another way to do it. So it will be a real Refugium! doh :d'oh:

 

[johniii]

reefstinger;787030 wrote: ok , I think i will have to takedown this supposed to be fuge and add baffles to it unless there is another way to do it. So it will be a real Refugium! doh :d'oh:

I think your setup is great just put the algea in and let it go. You have. No need for baffles cause your fuge has no pumps

 

[reefstinger]

Thanks John, after you left last night , i went to bed and remembered pulling my ATO float solenoid out of the sump?? so i dumped 12 gallons of RODI into the sump. It worked like it was supposed to though, the solenoid in the 20 gallon topoff can shutoff the pump when the level got too low . my salinity only dropped from 1.025 to 1.024 . so its always a good idea to NEVER hook RODI straight to sump. Always use a smaller toppoff container so it will not drop sal very little.

 

[eagle9252]

yeap. i had though about a remote fuge and use LR my my fuge is now but...