Is a 5 gal Refuge useful....

[eng50]

On my setup, would a 5 gal 'fuge be of any benefit?
I can fit a small 5 gal acrylic tank over top of the sump so it can be fed via a return line T, and gravity feed back to sump. I can't find any refuge to tank size recommendations on the board. If it will truly benefit me, I will do it just to keep things ok, or better than ok, if its more trouble than its worth....any input would be appreciated, Thank you...
What are the benefits, and downsides, there seem to be differing opinions...
What do you do with the excess calpura that I assume overgrows the fuge?
Thank you!

 

[saltyrich]

I am of the opinion that any type of refugium is beneficial. 1- if it allows you to grow additional pods, its beneficial. 2- if it could be used to house frag. corals and give them time to recover, its beneficial, 3-if you can grow macroalgae to assist in filtration, its beneficial. 4- if it allows you to house more ls or ls/lr rubble that assist in denitrifying and added filtration, it is beneficial. Jumst my opinion.

 

[jonthefb]

i totally agree with salty rich. even by addign a five gallon fuge you are still increasing your filtering capacity because the now has several mean of filtration, and much more surface area for the water to flow through, which is colonized by denitrifying bacteria. i wish i had a fuge on my 20 so that i could prop corals like i am wanting to. it would be so nice to have a grow out tank, but it is difficult to do this in your main tank.
id say go for it and good luck
jon

 

[bang guy]

1 - Bugs.
I believe any size refuge can be beneficial to raise 'pods.
2 - Algae.
5 gallons is large enough to grow algae for nutrient export. After harvesting a handful give it away or sell it if you can. If you have a Tang or other critter that like to eat it save some for food, but most of it should not be reintroduced if you're trying to export nutrients. If you're just growing it for food then you'll need some other form of nutrient export.
3 - Water Volume.
Every bit helps.
4 - DSB.
It is my opinion that a DSB smaller than 2 square feet of surface area cannot support enough infauna diversification to be useful in denitrifying the water. As a result, I do not recommend more than 1/2" of sand in containers with a footprint smaller than about 2 square feet. It will still work very well as a biological filter.

 

[eng50]

Please see my alternate idea, integrated and give me your opinions...Thank you! (other post)