Who has a refugium on a FOWLR tank and why?

[mavis1032]

I currently have a well stocked 265 FOWLR and my nitrates are always very high. Everything else is in line. I do a 60 gal waterchange every 2 weeks but can't keep the trates below 60-80. I was thinking of adding a refugium to my wet/dry already in operation but know if it is worth the trouble or cost.

 

[salt210]

I have a 10g on my 210. I am thinking of converting the wet/dry over. it cant harm anything to add one and really not that expensive

 

[mavis1032]

Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/3023975
I have a 10g on my 210. I am thinking of converting the wet/dry over. it cant harm anything to add one and really not that expensive
Does a 10gal do anything for a tank this big?

 

[salt210]

unfortunately that was the biggest that I could put under my tank, but yes it did help alittle. this is why I want to convert my wet/dry over. I was just never able to get a straight answer about my idea to do so

 

[runn3rb3an]

I have a 40 gal sump/fuge on mine. I just did it to handle a bigger bioload and put the skimmer/heater/liverock rubble in.
I think that keeping chaeto in the fuge is suppose to help with algae and trates and all that stuff but im not too sure

I also have tons of pods and things growing which is good.

 

[mavis1032]

Originally Posted by runn3rb3an
http:///forum/post/3024179
I have a 40 gal sump/fuge on mine. I just did it to handle a bigger bioload and put the skimmer/heater/liverock rubble in.
I think that keeping chaeto in the fuge is suppose to help with algae and trates and all that stuff but im not too sure

I also have tons of pods and things growing which is good.
How big is the DT?

 

[crypt keeper]

Personally go as big as you can. I have a 30 on my 75 and my trates are good to go. How much live rock do you have in your DT?

 

[ophiura]

It is not uncommon on large FOWLR to have higher nitrates, but if you have a wet dry maintenance may be part of your problem. Do you rinse the bioballs frequently? I am assuming you have a skimmer also.
A refugium, IMO, is always a nice idea because it adds to your export capacity for nitrate. So regardless of the tank type, I think if you can fit it in there, it is a good addition. ANY size, IMO, is something. Maybe not huge - but if you regularly trim the algae, it is decent. It may not resolve your problem, which probably has several causes, but it certainly won't hurt it.

 

[mavis1032]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3024322
Personally go as big as you can. I have a 30 on my 75 and my trates are good to go. How much live rock do you have in your DT?
The DT has about 350lbs of LR in it and I am ruuing a skimmer rated for 250 gal.

 

[salt210]

like stated go as big as you can. I was stuck with that size and I wish that I could have gone bigger

 

[woody189]

I have a 46 gal fowlr and my trates were always 10-20. I added a 10 gal sump/fuge. I mainly wanted a place to keep my skimmer cuz of all the bubbles, but I threw a little bit of Chaeto in there and my trates are at 0 for the 1st time ever.
Like every1 else seid, can't hurt.
I really think you should get a bigger skimmer though. They say to get a skimmer rated at least 50% more than you need, and yours is less. That may help.