Refuge Questions???

[NickBee]

We have a 75 Gal fish only tank. I’d like to add a Refuge to grow food (getting a tang soon) and increase water volume (That’s never a bad thing). Here’s a pic of our current sump / skimmer (yes the bio balls are in the process of being replaced with rock rubble).

http://www.nickbee.com/images/fish7.jpg

My thought is to build a stand from PVC to elevate a fuge tank above the level of the sump. Then run a pump from the sump to the fuge with a return back to the sump (gravity since the fuge will be higher than the sump).

Questions:

• With the space I have I was going to use a 5 gallon tank. Is that large enough to make it worth it?

• Can I pump water from the sump and return water to the sump without going through the sump tower (that would require drilling another hole in the glass).

• What would be a good pump to use?

• What kind of light should be used for the Fuge?

• What would you toss in there initially (sand? Mud? Macro?)

Thanks!

[bertoni]

5g is very small, but it's probably better than nothing.

You should be able to pump water out of the sump and have it overflow back into any part of the sump. I'd use a small Eheim pump, and maybe start with some cheap track lighting. If you have an inexpensive PC setup, that'd be great, in my experience.

I likely wouldn't add sand or mud to that small a refugium. The macro should give the best return for volume. A 1" layer of sand probably wouldn't hurt anything, though. Mud can get messy, and is really only useful for rooted marine plants, not algae, in my opinion.

[NickBee]

I'm going to take some measurements tonight and see if a standard 10 gallon will fit.

Do you have a recommendation for a retro PC fixture?

Thanks!

[bertoni]

I haven't used any currently-available PC retrofit kits, so I can't help there.

[NickBee]

How about something like this for a light?

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lighting_powercompact_compact-fluorescent_coralife_mini_aqualight_lamp_fixtures.asp

[papagimp]

with that small of a refugium (10gallosn) you can use a shop style clamp light from home depot and get a bulb from them as well that will grow macro just fine. I've had my 10g sump/refugium w/ cheatomorphia going for quite awhile now and spent no more than $40 setting the whole thing up.

for the record though, pods tend to breed in the area where rock meets the sand, so adding .5-1" sandbed in there would be advisable. As would some rubble rock, doesn't need much, but some.

[bertoni]

Those fixtures would be fine, most likely. I'd get the freshwater version for a refugium. The shop style lamp might work, as well, although I didn't have good luck with one.

[NickBee]

Good info. I need to start game planning this weekend. With the macro algea, can enough be grown in a 10 gal refuge to keep a single yellow tang happy? Or do you need to add more as time goes on?

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9006784#post9006784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
The shop style lamp might work, as well, although I didn't have good luck with one.

It's all about the wattage and color spectrum. I use a slyvania bulb from home depot- green packaging, spiral bulb. 27watts but rated to replace a 75 watt bulb (according to packaging) And it's running about 5500k spectrum.

If not this options than I agree with his other comment, go the freshwater route for color spectrum. I've kept cheato growing in 2700k - 6800k.

[bertoni]

I've also grown many small crustaceans in tanks with no sand. Some copepods and amphipods are sand-dwelling. Others are not.

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9006790#post9006790 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NickBee
Good info. I need to start game planning this weekend. With the macro algea, can enough be grown in a 10 gal refuge to keep a single yellow tang happy? Or do you need to add more as time goes on?

It depends weather or not it'll eat the macro algae. Some love certain types and wont' touch others, while somebody elses yellow tang may like the other kinds but not the macro your's will eat. See what I'm saying? And keeping anything other than cheato, you run the risk of the macro going assexual and making a big mess of the tank. I've heard of some yellows eating cheato, but the last one I housed did not touch it. fwiw, to keep the fish healthy, you'd probably be better off buying algae sheets than trying to grow their food. Growing your own would be great as a supplemented food, but not as a primary.

[bertoni]

I agree. The more common types of macroalgae grown in refugia aren't as good a food as some of the algae sheets, or at least should be used as a supplement. If you can grow Gracilaria in the refugium, that'd be one of the better foods, but it's fairly hard to grow.

[NickBee]

Gotcha... So the macro algea is in a Fuge is mostly for water quality and tank health? I'm just trying to grasp the overall benefit of a Refuge be sides more water volume and movement.

Thanks again!

[bertoni]

Better water quality and a bit of live food are the primary benefits, in my opinion. They can also be reverse lit to help with pH swings.

[NickBee]

aaahhhh,, I read about reverse lighting. Makes 100% sense about pH swings!

[NickBee]

Took some measurements tonight. I have a foot print area of 16” x 13” to deal with (our sump is huge). So when it comes to standard size tanks a 10 won’t work. Looks like I’m stuck with a 5 gallon unless someone has an idea. Might be a good opportunity to try making my own tank, but I’d rather get something off the self to keep the expense low.

Thanks Again!