Refugium

[yazid]

nice one, yazid! what's that spikey thing in the foreground?

Coral Farm call it Red Bamboo... if I'm not mistaken it is red color algae.

[piero]

Where did U get all those worms in yr DSB from??

[yazid]

I seed it from my main tank....

I heard you want some live sand... I can sell you some to support my next purchase of corals...

PM me.

[eprouve]

Coral Farm call it Red Bamboo... if I'm not mistaken it is red color algae.

Which coral farm??

[Achilles Tang]

Let me know how the refugium fares ie. any macros bleaching/crashing?

Do you dose iron?

[yazid]

Let me know how the refugium fares ie. any macros bleaching/crashing?

Do you dose iron?

From the photo, one part of the green grape bubble algae starts to bleach. I guess when I got it is already going to bleach. But the other part starts budding already. You can see the light green and the dark green color from the photo.

Notice the money plants (halimeda also budding).

The red bamboo.. saw many small red bamboo coming out from the base rock.

Calurpae (Fern) never notice anything as it is to thick to be notice.

Saw one big pods. Almost the size of a lady bug. I hope it is not dangerous to the fish.

Will report if it starts going asexual.... haven't dose anything yet... except for SeaChem products that suppose to add minerals and maintain calcium level. Probably it gots iron in it. Got to check.

[DragonGoby]

what lights are you using, and what is the photoperiod? Some people have reported that having a 24hr photoperiod will prevent caulerpa from going asexual. Also, has anyone tried the true seagrass, aka turtle weed? I once used a bunch of those in my seahorse tank, and they were really extremely hardy, not only surviving - but thriving and growing - on merely indirect sunlight. I'll be converting part of my sump into a refugium, and use seagrass instead - will keep you guys updated!

[yazid]

what lights are you using, and what is the photoperiod? Some people have reported that having a 24hr photoperiod will prevent caulerpa from going asexual. Also, has anyone tried the true seagrass, aka turtle weed? I once used a bunch of those in my seahorse tank, and they were really extremely hardy, not only surviving - but thriving and growing - on merely indirect sunlight. I'll be converting part of my sump into a refugium, and use seagrass instead - will keep you guys updated!

It is on reverse lighting. Main tank OFF refugium ON. Main tank ON Refugium Off.

This is suppose to stabilize the PH in the water.

I've got turtle weed on the left of the refugium. Can't see from the photo.

I'm using 36W PL 10K w/E-ballast for the refugium.

[piero]

Anyone knows how to stop the bleaching of the macro algae??? I always have this problem.... Do advice AT.... My refugium crashed just a while ago....

[piero]

Or anyone has any advice on what I shd do to keep my macroalgae alive?? They seem to bet bleached whenever I add my reef complete and reef builder into the main tank.

[bawater]

My sump 3ftx1.5ftx1.5ft: minimal filtration- just floss(bio-balls there for bacteria to get a foothold & will be removed once hooked up to main tank).

Filtration by mechanical/floss - & natural/ macro algae & mangroves- refugium supported by its own mini DSB. Refugium seeded with 500g old substrate'live' & 300ml live phytoplankton.Cycled in 2 weeks & just finished diatom bloom. ammonia 0,nirite 0,nitrates 20ppm (until dsb kicks in)

Refugium- eggcrate rack supports macro algae rock weight, less weight on sand & less chances of compacting it-rendering DSB capabilities useless. Area 18"x18"x 14"

[UFO]

piero,

What do u mean yr refugium 'crashed'? How & why? I was very tempted to start my 2ft refugium after reading so much in this forum.

bawater,

What a great idea to lift up the eggcrate I'm learning everyday here Just 1 tot, why is the 3rd chamber (with the skimmer) so big? Won't it be better if the 2nd chamber is bigger

[bawater]

actually though abt it very long, 3rd chamber is a resevoir- 2nd & 3rd chamber should be able to take abt 30ltrs of extra water in case power cuts.(when power cuts the water in the main tank will still spill into overflow cause most ppl have abt 2cm of height extra water in the main tank at full capacity).This is just a what if senario-should not happen.

Also the last chamber houses return pumps,skimmer & skimmer pumps,chemical filtration & some LR.(also got a 12"x5" area for me to hold a fish in prison).

My skimmer is there cause i feed live phyto & i want some nutrients to reach the refugium to feed mini DSB-the floss can't strain the phyto cause they smaller than 10 microns.The life that the fuge produces doesn't need to reach back to main tank as that already has its own DSB-although some will find their way.

Very simple design-and configurable cause i can always change the last to an added refugium if i wanted or fill water line above the last overflow partition.

It is not designed to filter crystal clear water devoid of life- it is to remove unwanted waste(uneaten food,nitrates,organics)using natural ecosystem organisms. I tried the plant filter concept on a FW for almost 3yrs & it works really really well. - the main key is to use nitrate loving plants,doesn't matter if their ugly as long as it works cause it will be hidden.

The macro looks a little ugly because i used them to filter a lionfish tank for a while. There was no other filtration for the lion except a powerhead for circulation.

i went for a cheaper alternative & used sand for main dsb function & topped off with No.1, i did the same in the main tank so u only see the No.1 & not of the ugly sand. The bigger grain size will always find themselves on the top over time.

The eggcrate is supported by a pvc frame-i used 13mm & rests on the bottom glass with weight spread by some T joints on the bottom.

i should have gone for a 4ft sump.damn!

Peiro- really depends on which algae u choose,those that don't go asexual & release back nutrients and will live as long as u give them food & light.

Hitchikers i found on my rocks i used to seed refugium-some xenia & tiny featherdusters & a

mushroom.

[yazid]

The last photo doesn't look like Xenia... more like aiptasia...

[UFO]

bawater,

Must i use glass for the patition of the chambers? I have an unused 2ft tank that i may want to convert into a sump. Can i DIY by using those plastic sheet (acsylic....forgot the right spelling) that those FW used for their LouHan? I found a photo/picture frame shop that sells much thicker (i think abt 6mm). I have DIY it in a 3ft tank as over/underflow filter. It holds because i only used it to quarantine 10kg LR. Have to give away after that because cannot tahun the maintainence. Wife already omplaining i spent too much time/$$$ on the 3ft main tank

Really want to cut costs if i build this sump. Eating bread in office everyday, wife only give enough $$$ to take MRT .......just kidding .......but serious abt cutting costs

[bawater]

yup it is- saved only a few from an outbreak of brown spiky nudis(which were cute till i found out xenia colonies were missing). they ate 2 full rocks & i managed to save abt 4 stalks left threw them on a rock & hoped for the best. Nudis ate the top & left the stalks.

These are non pulsing,brown(i guess indo-pacific) found in reborn. one of the bottom level tanks.

ppl on RC use these for nutrient removal,harvesting just as u would macro algae.

No stings.i don't even think they are classed as xenias?-but sure do look like them.

But this tank is aiptasia free.

i got an infestation of aiptasia in one of my 2fts which i just thermo nuclear cleaned- totally different creature.(i had so many nudis that i tried to put some in here- & they starved while whole tank was still a aiptasia orgy)

Nudis didn't eat aiptasia

Nudis didn't eat Algae/diatom/cyano

Nudis didn't eat frozen brineshrimp/mysis/bloodworms/nori

Nudis laid cresent shape batch of eggs every week

Nudis like to make love on front glass in the evenings before lights out

Tiny baby Nudis eat green algae on glass till 2mm in size......then......

Nudis die in Hot water & so do aiptasia.

Nudis don't dry in the sun very well too.

[DragonGoby]

Think it's anthelia, not xenia.

[bawater]

cheers DG!

Scientific Name: Anthelia sp.

Common Name(s): Waving Hand Coral

Family: Xeniidea

Order: Alcyonacea

Subclass: Alcyonaria

Class: Anthozoa

Phylum: Cnidaria

Features: The polyps can shink in size, but cannot retract. Tentacles have a feather like appearance.

Size: 100mm long and 50mm wide, with polyps between 20mm to 80mm long and 8mm tentacles.

Colour: Light brown.

Water Movement: Medium to high surging current.

Light: Medium to high light intensity.

Feeding: Filters out small suspended food particles i.e. plankton.

[eprouve]

UFO,

You can use anything to partition the sump, as long as the partitions are sealed. Meaning one chamber to the next, the water must overflow or underflow into the next chamber... not randomly like in the partition of a LH tank.

However, you may have problems using silicon on acrylic as it may not adhere too well.

[keithtty]

Hi all,

I, too, planning my sump. I am still strying do decide whether to submerse my pumps or pipe them external to the sump. Placing them outside will give me more space for the refugium, but I am worried of leakage. I am using Ehiem 1060 and a smaller one for re-circulating to chiller. Also, any advantage in terms of heat transfer to the water. Wondering if it will make a difference to electrical $$.

Thanks!

-Keith

[NormanH]

Hi,

Check with you guys whether can I use those 2 ft FL light (for LH tank) for the refugium? Do I need to change the tube and what type of tube?

[yazid]

My refugium base glass crack and flood my house.

If you DIY you own tank, please use thicker glass for the base.

So I have to start all over again.... sigh!

[NormanH]

My refugium base glass crack and flood my house.

That is bad. I m sorry that it happened.

[KingFish]

My refugium base glass crack and flood my house

Oh man.... sorry to hear about that

Let us know if you need any help

[KingFish]

I, too, planning my sump. I am still strying do decide whether to submerse my pumps or pipe them external to the sump. Placing them outside will give me more space for the refugium, but I am worried of leakage. I am using Ehiem 1060 and a smaller one for re-circulating to chiller. Also, any advantage in terms of heat transfer to the water. Wondering if it will make a difference to electrical $$.

Piping means extending the distance the pump has to push the water, thus reducing the water pressure. You might want to consider that if you intend to maintain water turnover rate.

Not too sure about heat transfer but I believe it should be minimal since your water runs through it anyway, but I suppose you better wait for the more experienced guys to comment on that.

On the refugium, I employed a detachable compartment setup so I can maximise the spread in my 3 ft sump/refugium. My overflow box suspends above the sand bed so allowing 8 x 10 inches for additional surface area for DSB.