cpr Refugium Setup

[ebeckels]

Ok...I've just bought the large aquafuge off of ----. I want to know exactly what to do when it get's here.... first i'll rinse it out...then i'll add my aquarium water to it? then a 4 or 5" dsb...some live rock rubble and some macroaglae. I'll put some lights over top and then plug it in? Is there anything else I should know? I was wondering if I'm supposed to put my aquarium water in it or newly made aquarium water? Thank you.

 

[hondo]

The unit comes with a rio pump which will be in your tank and it will pump water into the refugium and the syphon will take the water back to your tank. All you basically need to do is clean it, hang it on your tank and level it with the adjusting screws, install the sand bed, plug in the pump. You will need to do a DIY light as the unit does not come with any lights.

 

[ebeckels]

how deep should the dsb be in the fuge? 4 inches? How much rock should be in there? Do I lay the macroalgae on top and put the lights on over that?

 

[jonthefb]

In the refugium i am running on my 125 tank, i have about a 4.5 inch sandbed. On top of the sandbed i have several small piees of live rock, that anchor various fronds of caulerpa/algae, etc. It is workign great and i am having no problems with it at all. Also it is impportant that you keep your light on in the refugium for 24 hours at a time. Never shut it off. this prevents the algae from reproducing sexually, and thus prevents the problems of algae blooms in your main tank. Hope this helps!
Jon

 

[fish fry]

I just hooked mine up last week. I have a couple inches of sand and some rubble in it. My macro alage is coming in the mail tomorrow.
You might need to get some type of cover, to put your lights on.
I haven't decided if I am going to keep the lights on 24/7. I don't want it to be to bright for my fish. I also think that it will be a nice sunrise/sunset effect to have them go on/off just before/after the main lights.
or If I have problems with maintaining a stable pH I might run them opposite the main lights.
Yes I am a little worried about my macro algae crashing. However, I have heard that certain species rarely go sexual. Time to expirement. I'll keep everyone posted
Good luck
Fish Fry

 

[ebeckels]

I've heard that a refugium can help take care of annoying algae in the main tank by having the macroalgae use all the nutrients the "annoying" algae need to survive. Now, my question is this...I've scraped off the algae on the glass a few hours ago.... If I add the refugium I want to know if it will take care of making the algae that I didn't get disappear. Do I have to do anything special with the refugium?