Creating A Refugium?

[Budde]

How do I create a homemade Refugium?

Josh

 

[AK77]

Depends. Do you want it as a filter for your main tank with macroalgaes to remove nitrates, or do you want its for cocepod development etc?

 

[Budde]

Depends. Do you want it as a filter for your main tank with macroalgaes to remove nitrates, or do you want its for cocepod development etc?

What ever would be best for my aquarium... and livestock!

Josh

 

[AK77]

Well, again it depends on what you want to keep lol.

If you are planning on a full reef tank, then having a refugium connected to the tank is probably the best thing. This is so that you can grow macro algaes to remove nitrates and phosphates from the water, which will impede coral calcification. You could either have a HOB refugium or go for a sump design with a refugium section in it.

You could also have a DSB in the refugium which again will absorb nitrates as it will provide breeding grounds for de-nitrifying bacteria.

High nitrates aren't too much of a problem for marine fish, however its harmful to invertebrates and corals too.

 

[Budde]

I am planning on getting Mushroom Corals, and Soft Coral, along with Some Inverts. So, I would like to set up a refugium with macroalgaes... But, I would also like cocepod development.


Josh

 

[Musho3210]

wouldnt hurt to have a refugium but most soft corals prefer a slightly "dirty" water, so its not needed. You wont need a skimmer either. But of course, it wouldnt hurt at all to have one , especially since it can help the pod population. Just have a refugium, live rock rubble, maybe a really shallow sand bed (deep sand beds dont work well if at all in small areas) and macro algae, give it time and you will have so many copepods that you could probably go a week without feeding and your fish would still be fat lol.

 

[AK77]

Well have a look at sumps and HOB refugiums. http/www.melevsreef.com is a goldmine of ideas and designs. If you have room underneath your tank, then a sump would probably be the best way to go.

 

[Budde]

wouldnt hurt to have a refugium but most soft corals prefer a slightly "dirty" water, so its not needed. You wont need a skimmer either. But of course, it wouldnt hurt at all to have one , especially since it can help the pod population. Just have a refugium, live rock rubble, maybe a really shallow sand bed (deep sand beds dont work well if at all in small areas) and macro algae, give it time and you will have so many copepods that you could probably go a week without feeding and your fish would still be fat lol.

Where can I get copepods?

Josh

 

[AK77]

They may arrive on live rock, in seaweeds/macro algaes etc. You possibly already have them in your tank.

 

[Musho3210]

or you could spend lots of money for some lol....

 

[Gazbo72]

I made one out of a HOB filter and a arcadia 15w light that worked out at about £25 if you want I,ll post some pics. Its got cheato on one side and rock rubble on the other.

 

[Budde]

I made one out of a HOB filter and a arcadia 15w light that worked out at about £25 if you want I,ll post some pics. Its got cheato on one side and rock rubble on the other.

Please... Post Pictures of what it looks like!

Josh

 

[Gazbo72]

Here goes Josh

You just start of with a cheap HOB filter. Get a double sided one if you have the room( rock on one side cheato the other), Then cut a hole in the top for the light to fit in then I stuck some perspex inside the lid to keep condensation off the bulb. I made a cover for the lamp holder out of 5mm black acrilic but 3mm would of been ample just to keep the light out of the room (drill holes in the top to let the heat out). Also I made a weir out of clear acylic as the top of my tank is quite wide and the water dropping into the tank was making to many bubbles. The green pads you see is juat a sheet of phospad which I use to keep the cheoto from getting into the main tank.

Hope this helps and dont forget to clean the salt of the perspex occasionally

 

[amstar15]

i used an old tank and had glass cut to fit what I wanted (glass and the cutting cost me 14 dollars) as a sealant you can use GE Silicon type I. You can get it at lowes and it is aquarium safe and comes in a huge tube for under 5 dollars. that way i made my compartments the size I wanted. room for my mechanical filtration (if needed) room for mangrooves and macro algae. then room from my pump and protein skimmer.