refugium for a 20gal tank? what do i need?

[fishy_fishy]

i was looking at a 5 gallon fuge for my 20gal display tank. Is that good enough?
and exactly what does a refugium need? anything special?
i have two powerheads, a carbon filter, one 10000k light, and an air stone all ready for the tank. is there anything else?
does the fuge need LS? and does it need any inverts?

 

[gregvabch]

although i have not built my fuge yet, i think your biggest concern is getting the water to and from the fuge from the tank. live sand is what i'm planning on using for mine, as well as some live rock, and probably some snails and crabs. then some caulerpa algae of some sort. there's a guy on ---- who sells it, or you can get it from your lfs.

 

[fishy_fishy]

ok ill start looking at the water transfer process, but anything else i need or should know?
is 5gal enough for a 20gal tank?

 

[bentrue]

i used an overflow box and pvc pipe to get the water down into the fuge. i used a powerhead and more pvc to return the water back to the tank.
in the fuge i had LS, LR, some snals, hermits and a ton of caulerpa. you will find that the stuff grows like crazy. i also had a small powerhead in it for water movement. i had a 10g fuge for my 29g tank.

 

[stillfrodo]

Not to sound silly but being inexperienced in this hobby. What exactly does a refugium do? And is it a necessity? I am in the process of creating a 92 gallon aqaurium with dsb lr. I have a 20 gallon sump with protein skimmer. Was just curious what this refug does.

 

[leigh]

A refugium allows for nutrient export and diversity of species. Many pods can exist in the 'fuge that will get gobbled up in the display tank by fish and caulerpa can be grown and harvested in the refugium for nitrate export. Just a couple of the benefits of a 'fuge...

 

[fishy_fishy]

and its an all natural way to get rid of those trates =)
soo 5gal fuge is good for a 20gallon i guess.?
and ill get some LS and put it in their i gotta check on the LR tho, maybe i will get some from a lfs.

 

[leigh]

Yeah, 5 gal is plenty for a 20--more is always better but 5 will do the job just dandy.

 

[fishy_fishy]

lol @ 900 gallon fuge
aright so ill get a good deep sand bed for the 5 gallon fuge.
thanx guys i appreciate it.