hang on refugium

[jessp]

I was looking at some hang on refugiums on ebay from usa_aquariums. has anybody purchased from them, or have any experience with there hang on kits? any assistance is appreciated, i am a little weary of buying from ebay.
thanks
jp

[sir_dudeguy]

well they're good, only you can make one for cheaper...just get as large of an hob filter you can get (by large i mean the space in the bottom of it...where you would normally put media) and put live sand, rock rubble, and some chaeto in it...i did this and found that in about a week my tank was loaded w/pods. IMO its a good idea to do one if you cant get an in sump one or just a seperate fuge.

[luispa]

i have one hang on refuge on my 30gal tank and it sure makes a difference

[jessp]

where did you get your hang on fuge was it from usa_aquariums?

[sir_dudeguy]

i just made mine...cost me nothing as i already had an HOB filter and just got a couple scoops of live sand from a friend. Makes a large difference if you ask me.

[jessp]

you just remove the media basket from the hob filter and just add a light? if i understand correct, just add rubble rock or sand and some chaeto to hob filter and turn on? does it need a clip on light, it would get quite a bit of lite from the tank lights, but i also hear that the fuge lights should be opposite the tank lights. I know it is simple i just think to much into things. so something like a big whisper filter would work appropriately. sounds like a plan.

[jessp]

i ended up using a aquaclear 70 w/ 2" sand bed some rock rubble and chaeto. I had a good number of pods on the outside sponge of my pre-filter fox. I squeezed the pods into the fuge and turkey basted the visible ones from the water in the drain. Hopefully the pods i added will give it a jump stat. I have a clip on light 6500 k with metal bell housing. it was very easy, only time will tell

[seaduck]

what is chaeto??? is it like calurpa? a plant?

[luispa]

i bought mine at the LFS
its pretty small, like 7 gal or so
but its doing its job great id say

[jessp]

chaeto is a plant like caulerpa yes seaduck,

[sir_dudeguy]

yep...just an algae. Your lfs proly has a big thing of it in their sumps..just ask them if you can have a little tiny piece of it...it will take up the whole fuge in about a month lol...it grows really fast.

[Altpers0na-old]

i put mine in the tank, vice hanging off the outside, it catchs my skimmer bubbles and holds my macro.

made it out of a clear brita water filter, minus the filter top.

pic is in my gallery, top down shot.

[seaduck]

I have caulerpa in my hob filter ac110. Should I add some chaeto or remove caulerpa and go with chaeto??

[bllfish]

Remove caulerpa.

[kau_cinta_ku]

either on does fine. just that chaeto won't go asexual on you which is why most ppl choose it over caulerpa.but alot of ppl still use it also without to many problems
a sexual means it will go nuts and start to grow all over the place then you have a planted tank:d

[jessp]

i had a problem with the pump on my aquaclear after one night, fortunately i was able to clean it out and it works again. I had to arrange some filter floss to prevent sand from getting in the pump. it's working again and all seems well. the pods i added are still alive and kicking. i used an aquaclear 70 because that was the biggest size that would fit on the back of my tank.

another question, is it neccessary to run the lights of the fuge oppositte of the tank lights? i know the benefits of ph and o2 co2 steadiness. however will it hurt the tank to run the fuge lights w/ the tank lights on same time?

[dp122098]

I would check drsfostersmith.com and see if I can get something comparable from there.

[davocean]

I got the large HO fuge by CPR from foster/smith.
I've been happy with it, except it came with a RIO pump.
I switched it to a maxijet.

[jessp]

it must be working well your tank looks great