suggestions for refugium

[oozy]

i am building a 5 gal refugrium (sp) for my 20 gal reef. I raised it 2 inches higher than the display. i plan on having a PH in the ref ugium to suck water from the display and a siphion to drain back to the display. i am going to have a sand bed and algae and LR.
what i want out of this tank is to create a place for pods to reproduse, and to take neutrience out of the water that nucence algae would use in the diplay. Also i will use it as a time out for my Coral Banded Shrimp when he snips at my fish
if anyone has experience and could give me suggestions that would be apriceated!!!
thanks!
-Oozy-

 

[diatom]

What kind of suggestions are you looking for?
I can tell you what I'd do.
1) make it as big as possible.
2) install a DSB
3) keep the flow fairly low
4) Get some good Macro algae for nutrient export (preferably not Caulerpa)
5) Run the lights opposite your tank lights
Anything else?

 

[oozy]

whats the diff between macro and claurpa?
how should i make it overflow proof?
its a 5g on a 20 g tank...

 

[diatom]

Oozy~
1) No diffrence, Caulerpa is a type of Macro Algae. It can however go sexual and release all the nutirents back into your tank that you were trying to get rid of.
2)I read that Just my opinion but if you could work a 10 gal in that much the better...some people even have fuges larger then their tanks...although those are generally big rubbermaid containers tey keep put of site.
HTH,
Brent

 

[@knight]

i disagree with the lights running opposite the tank. For max. efficiency, the refugium should be lit 24/7
the theory of the lights being left off is to curb the normal pH spike agfter lights off. It does so, but makes the refugium less productive.
A 5 gal refugium would work just fine for such a small reef, but bigger is always better.
I do agree with the flow. Be careful not to get too much water flow. Only 1-2 GPH are necessary, so a weak powerhead would need to be used.
You will want a DSB for the ref. unless your tank already has one.
good luck. oh, and Caulerpa will work fine in a refugium, thas what most of us have in ours. gracillera sp. is also good, but all macroalgaes can go sexual if not cared for properly.
I dont think the CBS will be able to comprehend 'time-out'. If he snips at your fish, he should be moved. moving him back and forth could be stressful. Yoour dealing with a shrimp, not a 3 year-old
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: @knight ]

 

[seabass]

the lights being on on 24/7 is not nessasary IMO. this weeds are found 75f underwater where they dont get much light. I think 10 hours a day is ok. a guy I met today grows this in his basement and sells it to the lfs. at night he turns all the lights off. You should see how fast this seaweed grows!

 

[diatom]

Like most things in this hobby you should the lighting of your fuge is open to opinion. experiment with it and see which gives you better results. I've read that switiching from 24/7 to 12 hrs shifts can cause the Macro to go sexual. Of course I've read people say that they keep their Mardarin fish in 2 gallon tanks with a clown trigger and they are the best of friends too so take that with a grain of salt.
Not all Macros go sexual, however if you harvest yours semi-often you won't have to worry about it.

 

[wally]

I have read/heard that if you leave the lights on 24/7 it prevents the macroalgae from going sexual.

 

[dburr]

Grape caulerpa does not go sexual. I read that yesterday on another board. Is it true?

 

[diatom]

Wally~
what I read was just the opposite, thje reason being that the algea gets pushed (for lack of a better word) harder and goes through it's stages faster. True or not I don't know I imagine it's more complicated then that.
dburr~
Again I have read the opposite but have no experience, hopefully someone here knows better then I do. I personally am using Chaetomorpha sp. Which looks good, grows fast and, doesn't go sexual.

 

[dburr]

correction: I meant to write razor not grape.