Need advice on seeding my refugium

[basscyn]

Finally got my sump/fuge up and running. It has been pumping for about a week now.I am really happy with it. I need to set up the fuge chamber now. Its a 40 breeder, so I have a fair amount of room. I got some sand from a member parting out his tank that I have kept wet in a bucket. (I guess its still live sand).

Be sides sand and like Cheato, what else should I put in it to be the most beneficial? I see refugium seeding kits available for sale on ebay that have lots of critters and stuff. Do I need to get one...or will it develop on its own.

Any advice will be a great help!

Thanks.

Chris

 

[sagent3000]

i read somewhere that adding phyto plankton to your refuge will make the pods in your sump multiply faster. but thats all you need. you should however do a deep sand bed in the refuge

 

[basscyn]

So...how deep should the sand bed be? Where do i get hius phyto plankton? Will pods just emerge from the live sand?

Thanks!

 

[victor626nj]

if you come over tomorrow ill give you some cheato to seed your fug ......and i would go with a 4-6 inch sand bed

 

[basscyn]

Thanks a lot Victor. You are gonna be a busy guy tommorrow! Unfortunately...so am I. Figures too. I am only like 5 miles away from you. I live over off River Drive near Lester. Anytime i catch a parting out...its like in Athens or Woodstock or something. With the 1st come 1st serve rule...Its going to look like camping out for a concert in your front yard.The doors open at 7pm. Wonder what time they start lining up at your door step.
Is there a lottery?

I am tied up all day and night or I would certainly be over at your parting out party. I would love some of that cheato. But it would be Sunday before I could get over there. if the shrimp are still there...I'll get them too.

Let me know when is a good time.

Thanks again

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Chris, I am getting rid of a bunch of Chaeto this weekend but if I have any left that is un spoken for, it is yours...

Becareful about that sand. There is a chance that once you get down a few inches intot hat bucket, what you thought was alive is not going to be any more... That can be very bad to add to an already cycled tank!!!

 

[basscyn]

Thanks for the Chaeto offer. Gonna be tied up all day Saturday...I will be in touch.

You have me worried about the sand. Be careful? How can I be careful? Can I tell by looking at it if its live? It was free. So nothing lost if I dont use it. My tank has cycled...my water parms are spot on. I am in a happy place right now. Dont want to blow it. Live sand is pretty readily availble in the parting out threads. Should I just try to get some more?

Thanks Brandon.

Oh...is there any benefit to having "dead" sand for anything?

 

[sagent3000]

BASSCYN;172481 wrote: Thanks for the Chaeto offer. Gonna be tied up all day Saturday...I will be in touch.

You have me worried about the sand. Be careful? How can I be careful? Can I tell by looking at it if its live? It was free. So nothing lost if I dont use it. My tank has cycled...my water parms are spot on. I am in a happy place right now. Dont want to blow it. Live sand is pretty readily availble in the parting out threads. Should I just try to get some more?

Thanks Brandon.

Oh...is there any benefit to having "dead" sand for anything?

the dead sand is void of all the benefical bacteria so it will have to get them and recycle. when i added my refug i went to the store and bought some sand and used the store bought sand for my refuge and seeded it with some of the sand from my tank. (<span style="color: red;"> someone else might have a better idea</span>

you can get the phytoplankton from any fish store.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

BASSCYN;172481 wrote: Thanks for the Chaeto offer. Gonna be tied up all day Saturday...I will be in touch.

You have me worried about the sand. Be careful? How can I be careful? Can I tell by looking at it if its live? It was free. So nothing lost if I dont use it. My tank has cycled...my water parms are spot on. I am in a happy place right now. Dont want to blow it. Live sand is pretty readily availble in the parting out threads. Should I just try to get some more?

Thanks Brandon.

Oh...is there any benefit to having "dead" sand for anything?

Be very careful... If it has been sitting for more then a day or so, then it is most likely dead. What is it in? A 5 gal bucket? Do thi, Open up the bucket, reach down about 5" under the top layer and pull up a hand full. Smell it. What does it smell like?!? If it is raunchy at all, it is no good. If it passes the smell test then take some more out from a different area about 5-7" inches down and mix it with a bit from the top 2" and place it in a glass. Fill the glass with either fresh saltwater or some from your tank, Mix it around and let it settle. Then test it for Ammonia, NO2 and NO3. What are the readings?!? If you detect mid to high readings on NO2 and NO3 then it is no good. If you get any Ammonia, then I would not use it.

The only other thing to do is to cycle it in a 10-20 gal tank/QT for about 3-4 weeks. You can do this in your new fuge IF you do not hook the fuge up to the tank.

 

[basscyn]

Wow...good stuff Brandon. Thanks. I will do give it the test.

Thanks!

 

[basscyn]

Brandon...you were right. That bucket of sand was pretty funky smelling. I am now on the hunt for some live sand.

Thanks for the help!