A Quick Question

[SkiFletch]

Well dave if we're talking less than 1ppm of phosphates, then yes, over time that refugium will help. It will also help you keep your nitrates low as time goes on. For example, I have about a 15 gallon refugium compartment in my sump under my 45g tank (the whole sump is about 28gallons). Its about oh, 1/3rd full of chaeoto and my phsphate problems are extremely minimal. Moreover, my nitrates have been zero since about the 1st month of the tank's life. For a tank of your size, a 20-30 gallon refugium full of chaeot would be very beneficial to the longterm phosphate and nitrate removal of the tank. Just my $0.02

 

[JJ1234567]

now...correct me if Im wrong, but if your having an issue with phosphates...could it be that you need RO water? I dont recall phosphates coming in from anything other than not using RO. In that case might be worth investing the 145$ in RO machine

 

[Lovesfish]

no the phosphates aren't coming from the water because its RO water. The problem came from using frozen foods to long and not getting all the juices and stuff that carry phosphates and nitrates away by straining it. I learned that when I went to the fish store. dave

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, that'll happen. I feed frozen a lot but I dont strain mine. I guess my refugium does more than I think it does

 

[JJ1234567]

I knew there was another way, but does that little bit really make that much of a difference? I mean if thats your source of phospates why wouldnt a 5 gal fuge do the trick?

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends on the fish load and how much frozen is required. If you're tossin multiple cubes in at once multiple times per week the phosphates will add up quick. On a 120g there's probably a couple fish to feed

Edit: My 5 fish get a cube of frozen per day

 

[Lovesfish]

so I guess if then a 5 gallon refugium would do the trick for the small amout of phosphates that are being added by the cubes. and yes there are alot of fish to feed in my tank espically a very big hungry yellow tank. dave

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, keep in mind dave, I have a 45g tank, 15g refugium, 5 fish, and feed a cube of frozen everyday along with a couple pinches of pellets everyday. I dont experience nitrate or phosphate problems on a regular basis (when a snail dies I do though ). I also dont have much experience with a 120gallon tank with your fish load. All that being said I'll have to let you make your own judgement on whether a 5g refugium would be enough. It definitely would not hurt, but it MIGHT be a waste of time/money. I honestly can only speculate.

 

[Lovesfish]

well with a protein skimmer and a canister filter and 120 pounds of live rock I think it could only benifit with the macro algae which would pull the phosphates out as I have nothing else to pull them out at it is so they just keep accumulating if you get what I'm saying. I've tried phos ban which helped but I'm thinking that a plant constantly pulling it out with better aid in pulling out the little amount of phosphate I have and is created or thats my theory anyways heh. dave

 

[SkiFletch]

Oh absoloutely, I totally agree that refugiums with chaeto help keep phosphates down. But whether a 5 gallon refugium is big enough, I cant say for sure. Mine is clearly oversized for my tank size and feeding load as I almoast never see phosphates/nitrates, but I'm not sure how much its oversized. I cant be 100% sure that 5g will be undersized or not. My intuition is that 5g is undersized, but we'll probably never know unless you try something... See what I'm saying?

 

[Lovesfish]

yea I understand what your saying thanks. dave

 

[JJ1234567]

Well...Ive forgotten the first page already, but is there somewhere else you could locate another tank? overhead, on a shelf next too it, another room? Wouldnt be too much problem to do a simple overflow with a powerhead feeding it.

 

[Lovesfish]

well, the only room next door to the tank is the bathroom and I'd have to drill into the wall to put it in there in the first place so that wouldn't really work very well so I'm kinda backed into a corner and limited on what I could use. so I thought a hang on one might be handy for what I'm looking for is all ya know? dave

 

[JJ1234567]

well...if its the drilling that bothers you, it would only be two small holes in the wall . And think of it this way, you could make a very pretty pod fuge tank with macro algeas and the such that is now the bathrooms show tank. Only thing is you would probably have to seal the tank to prevent chemicals and steam getting in there. just a thought.

 

[Navarre]

We also have to consider the speed at which water will pass through the refugium...
The larger one may well do the trick but its only as good as the macro algae within it and the fine tuning in its setup. If water is passed through the refugium too fast then the algae will not remove the nutrients fast enough.. i recomend getting a slower movement through the refugium ot ensure a good removal method.
Secondly.. make sure you choose the correct algae.. halipton looks great but its a slow grower and not good at removal.. cheato and calurpa are far better for this of course but there are other types out there if you can find them.
I would opt for the larger more expensive system.. cut the flow through it so its has the best chance of nutrient removal and see how this effects the system.
If you are now straining your food then i dont see how the phosphates are still in the system... They do not reproduce so if you have hair algae or cyano in your system then it should be eating it just as fast as the more beneficial algae. If you are still getting phospahtes in your system even after the food is now strained then you are still getting phosphates into the system somehow IMO