what size refugium is ideal...

pegasus

Well-Known Member
When it comes to refugiums, bigger is always better. The bigger size not only increases the total water volume of the system, the larger refugium chamber will house more macro algae. This results in greater nutrient export... meaning cleaner water. It will also provide a larger area for small critters to grow and multiply. Amphipods and copepods are free food, and they are an excellent part of your clean up crew. I recommend getting the largest one you can...
 

flchevygrl

New Member
I was thinking of using 55gal for it. I got a 29 gal already to go...
55 gal was originally gonna be main tank but got a good deal a 75 gal....29 gal has all baffles 55 gallon needs baffles...
 

flchevygrl

New Member
Oh and 55 gallon won't fit under 75 gal stand...so looking into either building , buying or altering...but also thinking might use this dilemma in my favor...hehehe wanted a 125 to start with at first but boyfriend was against that big of tank...and buy a 125 gallon stand and get tank later...Santa better be nice this year...lol
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,
A refugium does not have to be large, the critters you want to cultivate does not take up much room...even a 5g tank makes a good refugium. I used a little in tank refugium from CPR, and it worked great. They also have HOB refugiums...all under a gallon and all worked awesome.

A sump system with a refugium chamber is ideal, but not necessary. IF you have a drilled tank, I would absolutely go with a chamber dedicated for a refugium...if you don't have a sump system for filtration, the above suggestions are just fine.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Bigger isn't always better. Sometimes a smaller, well maintained and productive refugium is more important then the water volume of a larger one.

A 5-10g of room inside a sump for a 75g display is plenty of room. You have to harvest the macro out of the system for it to be effective anyway.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Well... according to the other's input, you can probably get by with using a dixie cup. Perhaps you can fit enough live rock and sand in it to supplement the natural filtration of the tank? I recommended the larger size to add to the total volume of water in the system. The more water you have, the slower things change (and go bad)... oftentimes giving you a chance to correct the issue before it becomes catastrophic. But hey... what do I know???

On a side note, I think the 29 gallon will be sufficient for a 75 gallon tank...
 

geridoc

Well-Known Member
I am a member of the "bigger is better" school of thought. That's why I'm converting a 110 H into a sump/refugium for my 220 gallon system. I have an algae scrubber, so the refugium will house rock, sand and cuttlefish.
 
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