nm reef
Active Member
I believe one of the best and most beneficial additions to my humble lil reef has been a refugium...starting with the 10 gal rubbermaid origional version ... right up to the current 55 gal version which once was my display. Mine has slowly evolved into a display all on its own...actually containing livestock and a few corals...much different than the mainline concept of a "refugium"...I refer to mine as a "supplimental filtration system" instead of the more common "refugium".But...the principle remains the same....I have dramatically increased the overall wate volume...I have a remote DSB and about 75-80 additional lbs of LR...I culture and cultivate macro algaes for excess nutrient export...and I encourage the populations of copepods/mysis that eventually replenish the populations in my display. Unlike conventional refugiums I may have a couple of predators that feed on copepods etc...but.....there is still a thriving population.I currently keep a medium sized maroon clown...a pistol shrimp...a recently added small orange spot goby (that I hope will take up with the pistol)...a brittle star that I've had for over 4 years now...and a few crabs/snails...plus large populations of asterina stars...pods....worms....sponges...tunicates...dusters.....thriving populations that don't seem adversely affected by the larger species. I maintain a relatively low flow rate...about 600 gph that comes from my pacific coast CL650 chiller via a magdrive 1200. The refugium returns to my sump via a LifeReef slimeline overflow...Lighting is on a reverse schedule from my display and consists of 4x65 watts of 10K PC's & a single 40 watt actinic lamp.
True...the primary purpose of a refugium is to provide a safe harbor for assorted plants & organisms that would normally be consumed in a display. But even with predators my refugium seems to adaquately serve that purpose. Even the cultivation of macro algaes remains effective with the assorted fish/crabs/snails and the brittle. Normally I remove several hands full of primarily chaeto on a monthly basis. I also have a few other types of macro but since adding the chaeto the others are much less in quanity.
Bottom line is I believe a well established and maintained refugium...or in my case a supplimental filtrtion system...can be a very beneficial addition....I rate mine right up there with lighting/circualtion/skimmer.
Check out the pics I took just yesterday.....first is a look at some of the sponge growth...I have numerous colonies of this type sponge thru out the LR structures.
True...the primary purpose of a refugium is to provide a safe harbor for assorted plants & organisms that would normally be consumed in a display. But even with predators my refugium seems to adaquately serve that purpose. Even the cultivation of macro algaes remains effective with the assorted fish/crabs/snails and the brittle. Normally I remove several hands full of primarily chaeto on a monthly basis. I also have a few other types of macro but since adding the chaeto the others are much less in quanity.
Bottom line is I believe a well established and maintained refugium...or in my case a supplimental filtrtion system...can be a very beneficial addition....I rate mine right up there with lighting/circualtion/skimmer.
Check out the pics I took just yesterday.....first is a look at some of the sponge growth...I have numerous colonies of this type sponge thru out the LR structures.
