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Refugium Advice

fishy408

fishy408

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I am looking to build out the first chamber in my sump. The plan is to have it house pods/macroalgae and run in opposite light schedules to maintain PH.
  • Submersible light - this seems ideal for light spread control.
  • Maxspect Bio-Sphiers - Is this good for pods?
  • Media tower seems pretty cool - or is it a waste of space?
tia!

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I would stay away from the submersible light. Just seems to be an accident waiting to happen. Amazon has a nice light called the Growstar. See if you can find the all red LED version, if not the full spectrum version works well.

If you have fake rock then i think that Bio-spheres are a good idea but I would add them to a different part of the aquarium than the fuge. With all the light they get all gummed up with algae. Also the spheres are for bacteria to grow in and on. Not porous enough to house pods that i have seen.

The rack... if you have room , cool. It will keep them cleaner for sure.
 
Sounds like a solid plan!
  • CA RX media - in the 1st chamber with refugium light and chaeto.
  • Move biomedia in the second chamber.
 
Finnaddict said:
I would stay away from the submersible light. Just seems to be an accident waiting to happen. Amazon has a nice light called the Growstar. See if you can find the all red LED version, if not the full spectrum version works well.

If you have fake rock then i think that Bio-spheres are a good idea but I would add them to a different part of the aquarium than the fuge. With all the light they get all gummed up with algae. Also the spheres are for bacteria to grow in and on. Not porous enough to house pods that i have seen.

The rack... if you have room , cool. It will keep them cleaner for sure.
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The Tunze light is IP68 rated so it's definitely safe to run underwater, I'm just not sure how much punch it has . I get about ~120 PPFD under my Kessil H80 and it's been a workhorse for almost 10 years.

My chamber is just extra (real) live rock and it tends to be the lowest part of the tank where detritus settles, so I vacuum it once a month or so. Wouldn't recommend substrate if you notice that area collects things either.
 
I would imagine underwater lights grow algae on their surface that has to be cleaned to keep the par up. Also the ones I’ve seen aren’t very bright so maybe more than 1 is needed? Limiting light spillage might be worth these trade offs though.

The cheap amazon panel grow lights I’ve tried work well.
 
fishy408 said:
I am looking to build out the first chamber in my sump. The plan is to have it house pods/macroalgae and run in opposite light schedules to maintain PH.
  • Submersible light - this seems ideal for light spread control.
  • Maxspect Bio-Sphiers - Is this good for pods?
  • Media tower seems pretty cool - or is it a waste of space?
tia!

View attachment 57716
Click to expand...
I have the tunze and have had no issues with the light mechanically -
Issue is though-as others point out-algae can grow on light reducing PAR. Not always though- but it does need to be cleaned periodically
 
Here we go! Update on my thought process with more research and advice from this thread.
  • Moved nano protein skimmer, current bio media, and probes from chamber 2 to chamber 1.
  • Canceled Tunze 8831 and Chaeto/replaced with Corals, Burning Bush, and Tunze 8850. From what I have read, red light is for algae and white light is for macroalgae?
  • substrate - Little fish reborn on top of a germination tray for each cleaning.
  • wave maker for corals and burning bush.
Thoughts might change tomorrow.
 
Had the Tunze 8850 for several years on the Elos. Will likely have it on the IM, and would not hesitate to put it on any other future tank.

Reactors are neat but I aim for less things plumbed in / fewer pumps where possible.
 
A few modifications.
  • Chamber 1 - frag disks, mechanical filter, protein skimmer, probes
  • Chamber 2 - Ca-Rx media, Tunze 8850, macro-algae > possibly a small wave maker.
  • Chamber 3 - return pump, dosing lines, heater

How to add pods to the sump? Below is what I tried last time and failed.
  • Turn off all pumps at night for an hour.
  • Add Reef Nutrition Apex Pods in the sump and DT.
  • Feed Phytoplankton 1 every 2 days.
The previous failure I believe was due to the UV sterilizer, which was discussed on another thread. I might turn off the UV for a few months this time and allow the population to stabilize.

Is there anything else I may have missed?


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I wouldn’t put the heater in the return section. The pump can suck that chamber dry and the heaters can explode. I normally put them in the the skimmer or fuge cuz there’s a constant water level. Also media in the fuge will grow algae. So if that going to bother you. Move it to the skimmer side. Might want to run a black plate to darken out the skimmer side from the fuge side or it will grow algae also.
 
Good idea - moving the heater to the first chamber.
The CA-RX in the second chamber was meant to be a substrate/home for pods. I plan on either growing more macroalgae with corals reverse timing of the DT.
 
Turkeysammich said:
I wouldn’t put the heater in the return section. The pump can suck that chamber dry and the heaters can explode. I normally put them in the the skimmer or fuge cuz there’s a constant water level. Also media in the fuge will grow algae. So if that going to bother you. Move it to the skimmer side. Might want to run a black plate to darken out the skimmer side from the fuge side or it will grow algae also.
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Will the disaster saver here. Biggest mistake I made when putting my sump together was having a return chamber that was a little small in the pre-ATO days. Level sensors now give a little safety at least from having the pump run dry.

Why not seed with some rocks from the main display too? Get more microfauna in there that usually are getting taken away by the filter socks? I'd nix the socks too during this time. Maybe even run without lights for a couple weeks so bacteria can colonize first without algae grabbing hold.
 
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