Can you make a Refugium from a breeder box?

[miogpsrocks]

Hello.

I was wondering if I had like a clip on LED light and a breeder box, if I could use that as a refrugium. It has little vents for water flow and it shares the same tank water.

Could this way a way to get a inexpensive Refugium and grow some macro algae or something?

Thanks.

[MeghanisradxD]

Technically, you could. It wouldn't be very effective, though. For a refugium to be an effective form of nutrient export, it really needs to be significant portion of your tank's volume. It may be good to breed some pods.

[miogpsrocks]

Technically, you could. It wouldn't be very effective, though. For a refugium to be an effective form of nutrient export, it really needs to be significant portion of your tank's volume. It may be good to breed some pods.

Where can I get these " pods"?

What portion of the tank's volume need to be the refugium? I am sure having one will be better then having none right?

Thanks.

[MeghanisradxD]

Pods are tiny critters in the tank that feed fish. You can purchase them online or from most LFS' I find that is one of the main reasons people have refugiums. That and nutrient export.

As far as the size, I don't know if there is an exact number to give as a guideline, but I have a 30 gallon refugium on a 75 gallon tank. It is a display, so it may be overkill. I know people use the largest portion of their sump possible for refugiums, but sumps vary in sizes, so hard to give exact numbers.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=2190+3058&pcatid=3058

[jgraz]

There are likely pods in the tank already depending on how the tank was set up. If not then your best bet is to find a local reef that would be willing to give you some algae for the refugium, or a scoop of sand or small piece of rock. or you may find any of these at the local fish store. If your tank is already established then pods will find their way there naturally.

I have never subscribed to the notion that a refugium has to be sized properly to have an effect. If algae is growing then it IS having an effect. It grows, you harvest and you have exported nutrients, it grows some more, rinse/repeat. If the refugium is small then you will need other means to filter water. That is why we use skimmers, carbon, GFO, and so on.

[miogpsrocks]

There are likely pods in the tank already depending on how the tank was set up. If not then your best bet is to find a local reef that would be willing to give you some algae for the refugium, or a scoop of sand or small piece of rock. or you may find any of these at the local fish store. If your tank is already established then pods will find their way there naturally.

I have never subscribed to the notion that a refugium has to be sized properly to have an effect. If algae is growing then it IS having an effect. It grows, you harvest and you have exported nutrients, it grows some more, rinse/repeat. If the refugium is small then you will need other means to filter water. That is why we use skimmers, carbon, GFO, and so on.

If you have a skimmer then you don't need a refugium? I thought it was needed to reduce nitrates and phosphates ?

Thanks.

[Marchillo]

They sell hob refugiums that range in size from a gallon and a half to 4.5. You can find them in the selling section here for $50-$100 usually. I got a medium without a pump for $50 for my 40G breeder. There is no rule of thumb how big it has to be unless you are trying to keep a pod dependent fish like a mandarin.

[jgraz]

Not what I'm saying. IMO all systems are different and need different amounts of nutrient export.
Refugiums, protein skimmer, carbon, gfo, water changes, bio pellets, etc etc etc are all forms of nutrient export/control.
In small systems with light bio loads one might be able to get away with only water changes. As bio load increases and system volume increases the need to more aggressive means of export become necessary. In my system of 300gal I have a large refugium, deep sand bed, skimmer, and water changes. I never run carbon or gfo. I don't need to. But when my skimmer was having issues I had to go without it for a few weeks. So I had to do something to take up the slack. My refugium started growing macro at almost double the normal rate. But I still needed to up my WC's during that time to keep up.

IMO look at your system and kind of determine the lvl of involvement you want with it. If it's small and your willing/able to do WC's more often then try to go without a skimmer. If you know you won't keep WC's regular then you might want to go skimmer.

[CStrickland]

Refugiums are not required to run a tank. Really not much is besides good water, rocks, food, and some light. A skimmer is on the fence, most have one.

It might be kinda hard to manage the breeder box so that you have water moving through it but the algae stays inside. Cheato is like squiggly green spaghetti, it's a mess when little bits break off and blow all over your tank.

Another option might be planting some algae in your tank. Shaving brush plants and mangroves come to mind but I bet there's others that won't take over the DT. I had a couple shaving brushes and some red stuff when my tank was young. Once I got my nutrients under control they died off. But it was something to look at during my cycle and for a while after.

[jgraz]

They sell hob refugiums that range in size from a gallon and a half to 4.5. You can find them in the selling section here for $50-$100 usually. I got a medium without a pump for $50 for my 40G breeder. There is no rule of thumb how big it has to be unless you are trying to keep a pod dependent fish like a mandarin.


And if you don't mind spending a little bit of money CPR makes the aqua fuge 2. Witch is a skimmer and hang on back refugium in one. It is a great piece of equipment for smaller tanks. They come in three different sizes.

[Marchillo]

And if you don't mind spending a little bit of money CPR makes the aqua fuge 2. Witch is a skimmer and hang on back refugium in one. It is a great piece of equipment for smaller tanks. They come in three different sizes.

I have the first generation aquafuge without the skimmer. That it what I use on my smaller tank.

The second generation is black on the tank side which is fantastic so you can run the lights opposite. I wish mine was black