Bevo5 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I'm finally setting up the fuge in my sump. It's 15in x 21x. I'm looking for any tips and best practices for how to get the most out of this space. Right now I'm kind of thinking about getting a bit of that Fiji Mud and then topping it off with a layer of sand. Then just a bunch of cheato. All powered by that 10k light... Anybody got any tips? Should I toss rock in there or leave it be? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) No need for mud...No need for sand....no need for rocks... Just macros! and TRIM THEM! Many people I find are surprised that I trim my fuge down very regularly...this helps encourage growth and nutrient export. The less stuff you have in the fuge, the easier it is to suck out detritus. Depending on your setup...In my setup, I have a very low flow going through a similar size fuge...and over time it just becomes a great place to suck detritus from...again, nutrient export. Some rocks won't hurt, but IMO mud or sand is not a good idea. Of course, there are many ways to skin this cat! Edited March 8, 2016 by Mandinga 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 No need for mud...No need for sand....no need for rocks... Just macros! and TRIM THEM! Many people I find are surprised that I trim my fuge down very regularly...this helps encourage growth and nutrient export. The less stuff you have in the fuge, the easier it is to suck out detritus. Depending on your setup...In my setup, I have a very low flow going through a similar size fuge...and over time it just becomes a great place to suck detritus from...again, nutrient export. Some rocks won't hurt, but IMO mud or sand is not a good idea. Of course, there are many ways to skin this cat! +1 on nothing but macro, easier to clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo5 Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Ok sounds good - I'm going to just toss a ton in there and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Yep people say nothing but macro but I wanted it to look decent since this is open and I see it everyday. So tossed in some rock and a little sand and about 6 different types of macro and still looking for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Looks like a nice little fuge Spectra! I started with 6, but I'm down to 4, maybe 3 macros...In my fuge one tends to thrive while the others just kinda do barely ok. Chaeto is king, though ,y current favorite is a weird bubbly slime algae that grows on the surface, and some wicked hair algae that I know is gobbling up the phosphates and nitrates:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Thanks for posting this and thanks for the tips. I'm thinking about running a refugium on my upgrade to minimize water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 What are you trying to accomplish with the refugium? IME if you are looking for nutrient export you would set it up differently then if you are looking for a place for specific creatures to grow without being hunted (refuge as in refugium). If your just looking for nutrient export then I agree with the above. Cheato is the safest choice, not the best at absorbing nutrients, but the safest and legal choice depending on where you live. While pods will grow and breed in cheato if you are focused on pod production alone then their might be a better way to set it up for you. I think some of the muds are very good depending on what you want the tank to grow, but I would not use mud with cheato. IME the problems that give refugiums a bad name is when people start trying to do to much in one space and mix 3-4 different types in one refugium. that just tends not to work. Whether your trying to grow pods for a certain fish, increase pods in general, provide a constant food for corals, incorporate slow releasing trace element, improve the efficiency of your protein skimmer, keep food you will feed to a tank inhabitant, or just do nutrient export, then each of those would be setup differently. Although i will say that after 10-12 of experimenting with almost every type of refugium and spending countless hours talking to the refugium master Leng Sy, if you are just looking for nutrient export, I find carbon dosing to be far supperior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo5 Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Hey thanks - my main goal at this point is nutrient export along with maybe a little pod growth, but not really worried about that at this point. I would go for carbon dosing but I figured I would give this a shot first since I have the space in the sump. Plus I'm worried about having to carbon dose forever....definitely need to research more of that before going that route. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 If your mainly worried about nutrient export I would go with a bare bottom space with cheato. You can get a small powerhead to go under the cheato to acutally make it spin. I find an 18 hour light cycle works best. It gives the pods a time to propagate and the cheato a time to breath. Try to keep the cheato thinned out often and when you trim it try to cut the middle with scissors and pull it apart a bit. Not to small but cheato will grow from both ends, so the more ends, the more growth. Pods will colonize the cheato so you will see some increased population from it. The trip through the return pump won't phase them. I even had a clown fish ride through a dart unphased, pods are to small for the impeller to do much. Carbon dosing forever isn't such a bad thing IME. Way easier then maintaining a refugium and much more effective IME if nutrient export is your goal. Dosing pumps are so cheap now it really has become the easiest method for those who already have a protein skimmer. My nitrates and phosphates stay next to 0 and I haven't done a water change in 18 months or so despite feeding more in a day then some feed in a week. Refugiums are a fun thing to play with though. Good luck HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo5 Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 What are you dosing as your carbon source? Vodka? I do have a spare BRS doser laying around and I could easily rig that up to start dosing something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Ya I dose Vodka, about 8mL a day in my 120g tank. So 1mL every 3 hours. I started at 1mL a day and worked up to 7 over a month and a half or so. I have used sugar as well and that works good, but had to pour it in manually and I would forget often. Tried vinegar when I was keeping more of an lps/softie tank but for SPS I recommend Vodka. Just buy the cheapest unflavored vodka you can find. I think it costs me about $10 every 4 months. I do loose some to evaporation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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