fulcrum
Member
Here's the story:
I have two tanks. Living room tank: 110 gallon tall, 120 pounds of live rock, 5" live sand bed, 75 gallon three stage sump (middle part of the sump is a refugium with chaeto and a few mangroves, third stage is holds the skimmer and a return pump). Tank is relatively new (been running for about 2 months), but water chemistry is excellent.
The tank in the den is a 92 gal corner that has been up and running for 4 years now. Up until a month ago it was configured with 85 pounds of live rock, 4" sand bed, and a 20 gallon sump with nothing but a skimmer and a return pump. The back walls of the tank were covered in coralline, and water chemistry was always pretty good, but not excellent. The tank is pretty well stocked, but its been a stable population for over a year now.
1 blue hippo
2 firefish
1 yellow tang
2 mature false percs (a breeding pair)
1 flame angel
2 cleaner shrimp
I decided to make a refugium for the 92 gal corner, to see if i could improve water quality (like what i see in the new tank). I converted an old two stage sump into a two chamber refugium with 2" holes in the dividing wall to allow communicaiton between the sand and water on either side. I used live sand to create a 3" bed, plumbed it so that my tank overflow drains to the refugium and the refugium drains to the orignal sump with the skimmer and the return pump (essentially creating the same schematic arrangement of my new tank).
Both refugiums have 6700K lighting, although the fixture on the new tank is a 96 watt, and the new refudgium on the corner tank is only two 18 watt fixtures (for a total of 36 watts).
The refugium on the new living room tank is rocking and rolling. Chaeto grows very well, the mangroves are sprouting new leaves every week. water chemistry is good, coralline is really starting to spread in the display tank.
Here's the problem. I cant keep chaeto alive in the new reufgium for the corner tank. It slowly loses color over the course of a week, until its a very pale green. It doesnt grow.
I have seen refugiums flourish at a couple of LFS with these small 18 watt fixtures, and I am using 2 of them, but I'm starting to wonder wether I have enough light.
I have tried not running the skimmer to see if its taking too much plant nutrient out of the water, but it seems to have no effect. (I kept the skimmer off for a week, with no improvement in the looks of the chaeto.
I assume its missing light or nutrients. Obviously I'm missing something....what is it? Are some tanks incapable of supporting a refugium?
I have two tanks. Living room tank: 110 gallon tall, 120 pounds of live rock, 5" live sand bed, 75 gallon three stage sump (middle part of the sump is a refugium with chaeto and a few mangroves, third stage is holds the skimmer and a return pump). Tank is relatively new (been running for about 2 months), but water chemistry is excellent.
The tank in the den is a 92 gal corner that has been up and running for 4 years now. Up until a month ago it was configured with 85 pounds of live rock, 4" sand bed, and a 20 gallon sump with nothing but a skimmer and a return pump. The back walls of the tank were covered in coralline, and water chemistry was always pretty good, but not excellent. The tank is pretty well stocked, but its been a stable population for over a year now.
1 blue hippo
2 firefish
1 yellow tang
2 mature false percs (a breeding pair)
1 flame angel
2 cleaner shrimp
I decided to make a refugium for the 92 gal corner, to see if i could improve water quality (like what i see in the new tank). I converted an old two stage sump into a two chamber refugium with 2" holes in the dividing wall to allow communicaiton between the sand and water on either side. I used live sand to create a 3" bed, plumbed it so that my tank overflow drains to the refugium and the refugium drains to the orignal sump with the skimmer and the return pump (essentially creating the same schematic arrangement of my new tank).
Both refugiums have 6700K lighting, although the fixture on the new tank is a 96 watt, and the new refudgium on the corner tank is only two 18 watt fixtures (for a total of 36 watts).
The refugium on the new living room tank is rocking and rolling. Chaeto grows very well, the mangroves are sprouting new leaves every week. water chemistry is good, coralline is really starting to spread in the display tank.
Here's the problem. I cant keep chaeto alive in the new reufgium for the corner tank. It slowly loses color over the course of a week, until its a very pale green. It doesnt grow.
I have seen refugiums flourish at a couple of LFS with these small 18 watt fixtures, and I am using 2 of them, but I'm starting to wonder wether I have enough light.
I have tried not running the skimmer to see if its taking too much plant nutrient out of the water, but it seems to have no effect. (I kept the skimmer off for a week, with no improvement in the looks of the chaeto.
I assume its missing light or nutrients. Obviously I'm missing something....what is it? Are some tanks incapable of supporting a refugium?
