- Messages
- 1,157
- Reaction score
- 0
Wondering about the positives and the negatives of using a refugium. And, what do you grow in yours?
Positives and negatives of refugiums
- Thread starter lsu_fishfan
- Start date
- Messages
- 829
- Reaction score
- 41
Exactly what he said. I'm running one right now with chaeto and it's growing super fast. I'm going to do away with it though once I get my system to ulns levels. I'm dosing carbon now and it's only a matter of time before it dies on its own...
I'm curious too so I'll tag along here. I have been considering starting one.
I have actually been thinking about trying to create an area in my refugium chamber where I could grow pods with live rock and sand or miracle mud. That basically means no chaeto or refugium light.
I have actually been thinking about trying to create an area in my refugium chamber where I could grow pods with live rock and sand or miracle mud. That basically means no chaeto or refugium light.
Also you have less options for controlling nuisance algae. Say, bubble algae. Of your fuge gets infested, it's not like you can just add an emerald crab. It would eat up the macro. So that is just something g to consider, I've seen one completely overrun with nuisance algae.
Sometimes you just have to ask yourself when you're being scammed.
I didn't mean to make fun of you, honestly, it's the product itself that makes me laugh. It's just mud. It's not even from the ocean. It does have some minerals that are very slightly beneficial to macro algae in the fuge but other than that there is very little difference between it and what you can get with a shovel in your back yard. And no, I do not think you should put dirt in your fuge.
It's a hilarious marketing scam, putting mud in a bottle and selling it for $10, or whatever it actually retails for, and calling it Miracle Mud!
Save your $ and don't buy it! Put some sand down there if you like. Try out some various grain sizes if you like. That's all you really need for some great biodiversity in your fuge. Your macro will do fine without the inert quartz and slightly beneficial iron and other minerals in the "miracle mud"
I run an external 40 breeder looped into my main system as my fuge. All I have in it are chateo and mangroves trees, no sand or mud. It collects a little bit of crap on the bottom of the tank over time but all I have to do is vacuum it out. My chateo are always tumbling in the fuge being pushed by two power heads and my mangrove trees are held in place and upright by rock rubble. If your fuge is done correctly, there are NO negative affects. Now if you load it up with a deep sandbed and never touch it, then yes over time it will cause trouble. That is the reason why I went with a bare bottom in mine.
I have a ball of chateo bigger then a watermelon in my fuge and that's where they all hang out in. Their also all over the glass in my display so I'm sure their all over the sand in my display as well. I'm also adding some dry rock rubble in my fuge slowly (1 small piece a week since it's dry) and that will also give the pods more places to hang out. I don't really have a problem with crap collecting on my rock rubble in the fuge since I have a powerhead pushing water across the bottom of my fuge and one at the top. It keeps the fuge pretty clean.
