Refugium & what sand to use

[buyitjody]

Hello,
I am new to the hobby and we are about to add on a refugium to our 55 gallon. I was wondering what type of sand to use. Also, if I am going to have macroalgae in there with a couple pieces of live rock, what kind of lighting do I need to have? I hear it doesn't have to be powerful, but I'm not sure what that means (besides not as powerful as the main tank).
So, two questions:
1. What type of sand?
2. What type of lighting?
Thanks for any suggestions/help!

 

[mr . salty]

seeing as it's going into the refugium,any store bought AQUARIUM sand will work fine..You may need to soak it in saltwater for a day or two before adding it so it wont float away,but nothing fancey is needed....Same with the lighting,nothing fancey needed.Plain 'ole flourscent lighting fixtures with grow bulbs is plenty good here...Might I reccomend leaving the refugium lights on 24 hours a day.This will help to avoid two things.#1,eliminate Ph swings at night in the main tank.And #2,this will keep the algae from going sexual and releasing spores.These spores will get into the main tank and cause a nasty bloom...You will also find that by providing a perfect place for algae to grow in this refugium,you will almost totally eliminate any algae problems in the main tank...

 

[j21kickster]

one addition, keep the algae trimmed, if it isnt maintained it is harder to keep alive

 

[nm reef]

For sand I'd suggest any type of aragonite based sand...I personally prefer to use Caribsea oolitic(sugar size) and Caribsea seaflor grade. In addition I added Natures Ocean LS to my refugium...along with 20 lbs or so of crude/rubble from the bottom of the LFS's LR curing tanks.
As for lighting I use 4x40 watts of 50/50 NO floursent lighting and I run mine 24/7.
The caulperas will need to be harvested/trimed to properly export nutrients and I'd suggest a relatively low flow rate through the refugium to improve its ability to export excess nutrients.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by j21kickster
one addition, keep the algae trimmed, if it isnt maintained it is harder to keep alive
Buyitjody - Heed what the Kickster has said! I sure most of us have made the mistake of letting it grow uncontrolled and lost all of our algae.

 

[buyitjody]

Being that this is new to me, how often are you supposed to trim it? How do you know when to trim it? Let me know any routine or signs you might follow. I was actually hoping to trim some off and toss it in the main tank on a clip to let the tangs eat it.
Also, is there a set way to calculate how many pounds of sugar-grain sized sand I will need if I know the dimensions of my refugium?
Thanks for y'alls help!
Jody

 

[j21kickster]

thats ok to do just make sure that it is eaten and not allowed to start growing in your main tank, it can be difficult to remove once it takes off. About trimming, i have a 10 gal aquarium refugium and i keep it trimmed to a size just a little larger than a softball (that is if you were to put it in one big clump)what size of refugium were you going to do?

 

[buyitjody]

The dimensions are 15" long, 11" deep, 16" high....not sure how high it's going to be filled with water yet. This is a refugium/sump set-up. Water from the refugium will trickle into the sump area, which is the same dimensions as the refugium.
Any ideas on how much sugar grain sized sand I will need to make a good 4"+ sandbed?