In Tank Refugium
- Thread starter 27mtaylor
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uberlink
Active Member
Originally Posted by maxalmon
uber, did you just throw a handfull of Chaeto in the filter and that was it?
Pretty much. The Skilter is a filter/skimmer. Basically, it's a fine h.o.t. filter, but not much as a skimmer (in my opinion). I had to remove the skimmer parts, but that was it. I continue to use the skilter filter cartridges for added filtration and to hold the chaeto in place, and obviously I added the light. That's it.
To be clear, there are many much better refugiums out there. But this works well for a smaller system if you aren't going to plumb in a proper refugium. It has eliminated my nitrates and has almost eliminated algae growth inside my tank.
That said, I am also pretty religious about weekly 5-10% water changes, and I am pretty careful with feeding. But even with all that, my nitrates only dropped to zero after I added this little fuge.
uber, did you just throw a handfull of Chaeto in the filter and that was it?
Pretty much. The Skilter is a filter/skimmer. Basically, it's a fine h.o.t. filter, but not much as a skimmer (in my opinion). I had to remove the skimmer parts, but that was it. I continue to use the skilter filter cartridges for added filtration and to hold the chaeto in place, and obviously I added the light. That's it.
To be clear, there are many much better refugiums out there. But this works well for a smaller system if you aren't going to plumb in a proper refugium. It has eliminated my nitrates and has almost eliminated algae growth inside my tank.
That said, I am also pretty religious about weekly 5-10% water changes, and I am pretty careful with feeding. But even with all that, my nitrates only dropped to zero after I added this little fuge.
uberlink
Active Member
Originally Posted by Bandman
What is chaeto? and where can you get it?
Chaeto is short for chaetomorpha, and it's a type of macroalgae also known as Spaghetti or Brillo-pad algae. Bascially, it's a fast growing brillo-pad like seaweed. As it grows it extracts nutrients from your water. It doesn't have some of the downsides of some of the prettier macroalgaes (e.g. caulerpa, which is lovely but can occasionally release toxins into your system), and it's a great place for beneficial copepods, etc. to breed and grow. It's pretty ugly, though, so you don't especially want to grow it in your display tank. That's why it's a common choice for use in a refugium.
If you're looking to buy some, you can usually find it over on the classifieds board in this page. I bought mine from a fellow swf.com guy who sold me a nice handfull for about ten bucks.
What is chaeto? and where can you get it?
Chaeto is short for chaetomorpha, and it's a type of macroalgae also known as Spaghetti or Brillo-pad algae. Bascially, it's a fast growing brillo-pad like seaweed. As it grows it extracts nutrients from your water. It doesn't have some of the downsides of some of the prettier macroalgaes (e.g. caulerpa, which is lovely but can occasionally release toxins into your system), and it's a great place for beneficial copepods, etc. to breed and grow. It's pretty ugly, though, so you don't especially want to grow it in your display tank. That's why it's a common choice for use in a refugium.
If you're looking to buy some, you can usually find it over on the classifieds board in this page. I bought mine from a fellow swf.com guy who sold me a nice handfull for about ten bucks.
uberlink
Active Member
What happened over here was that I bought this stupid Skilter the first time I went to the aquarium shop to get the stuff to start in saltwater. Within a month, I replaced it with an Aqua C Remora...but I hated to just throw it away and, cheapskate that I am, wasn't willing to invest in anything better as a refugium (at least not yet). Just turned out that it works pretty well!
T
trimmer156
Guest
i have one more question. I have an eclipse 3 hood that i have removed the bio wheel from. When i get my corals in i will removed the carbon pad also as i have been told it strips the water of nutrients. Here is my question. I now have water moving thru two box's in the hood and draining out. If i cut the lid and added a small light over this opening it is essentially the same as your skilter, the only difference is the depth. The chambers in the hood are only 3 inches deep in one and 4 inches deep in the other.
i was thinking no sand, just lr rubble and cheato. Does this sound feasible. How much cheato did you buy originally??
thanks
i was thinking no sand, just lr rubble and cheato. Does this sound feasible. How much cheato did you buy originally??
thanks
uberlink
Active Member
Originally Posted by trimmer156
i have one more question. I have an eclipse 3 hood that i have removed the bio wheel from. When i get my corals in i will removed the carbon pad also as i have been told it strips the water of nutrients. Here is my question. I now have water moving thru two box's in the hood and draining out. If i cut the lid and added a small light over this opening it is essentially the same as your skilter, the only difference is the depth. The chambers in the hood are only 3 inches deep in one and 4 inches deep in the other.
i was thinking no sand, just lr rubble and cheato. Does this sound feasible. How much cheato did you buy originally??
thanks
Sounds a little shallow, but it might work. I don't think you should worry about carbon pulling nutrients out of the water. That's a good thing, generally speaking. Too much nutrients contributes to algae growth in the tank. And it can really polish the water (for a day or two, anyway).
I originally bought just a handful of chaeto. It's growing in there, though! You don't need a ton. Check over on the classifieds or put up a post. Somone will sell you some.
i have one more question. I have an eclipse 3 hood that i have removed the bio wheel from. When i get my corals in i will removed the carbon pad also as i have been told it strips the water of nutrients. Here is my question. I now have water moving thru two box's in the hood and draining out. If i cut the lid and added a small light over this opening it is essentially the same as your skilter, the only difference is the depth. The chambers in the hood are only 3 inches deep in one and 4 inches deep in the other.
i was thinking no sand, just lr rubble and cheato. Does this sound feasible. How much cheato did you buy originally??
thanks
Sounds a little shallow, but it might work. I don't think you should worry about carbon pulling nutrients out of the water. That's a good thing, generally speaking. Too much nutrients contributes to algae growth in the tank. And it can really polish the water (for a day or two, anyway).
I originally bought just a handful of chaeto. It's growing in there, though! You don't need a ton. Check over on the classifieds or put up a post. Somone will sell you some.