Refugium care question

[Chris_150G]

I have a 3 week old "under the tank" 15 gallon refugium set up that has a 6" DSB, LR rubble and some chaeto. My skimmer is in a separate 10 gallon tank that precedes the refugium. The two are linked by an overflow. The flow thru is fairly high.

My question is, do I need to do anything for the DSB? I'm sure there are pods living in there. Does the DSB pose a risk to the tank? Do you guys just have macro algae or do you have both?

I ran into this random guy at the fish shop and he told me, "be careful with that DSB dude". He said he has five sand sifting stars in his. I think he meant that they need creatures crawling around in them to mix up the sand. Isn't that the pods job?

Geeze it never ends.

 

[dcantucson]

With a DSB, even in a refugium, you are not supposed to disturb it. You can occasionally siphon / vacuum the very top surface off if you wish. You can add a small CUC if you wish but it is not necessary. I would not add a sand sifting star.

 

[yote]

With a DSB,weather its in the fuge or the display,should ONLY be stirred by animals that live in the sand.
I forget the name of the gas that can build up in a DSB,but I've seen just how quick it can kill a tank.The 280 reef at Bermuda used to have a DSB.One of the guys that USED to work at the store,stirred the sand up while adding water after a water change.The entire tank started stinking,then corals started melting and fish dying,In an hours time,nearly $3,000 worth of softie and LPS colonies was either dead or beyond being saved.

 

[Rcpilot]

With a DSB,weather its in the fuge or the display,should ONLY be stirred by animals that live in the sand.
I forget the name of the gas that can build up in a DSB,but I've seen just how quick it can kill a tank.The 280 reef at Bermuda used to have a DSB.One of the guys that USED to work at the store,stirred the sand up while adding water after a water change.The entire tank started stinking,then corals started melting and fish dying,In an hours time,nearly $3,000 worth of softie and LPS colonies was either dead or beyond being saved.

:shock:

:bye2:

 

[wontonflip]

:shock:

:bye2:

You're just joking, right? That wasn't you, was it? LOL :mrgreen:

 

[Rcpilot]

You're just joking, right? That wasn't you, was it? LOL :mrgreen:

I was saddened to hear Yotes story.

 

[Chris_150G]

Do you guys use them? Do you think its a worth while endeavor? Or is it like putting a nuke on a plane and flying it around?

 

[Bifferwine]

On my old 240, I used a DSB and loved it. Most people recommend having it separate from the main tank to avoid a crash... And DSB crashes happen. That way, you can just unplumb it should something go wrong.

Refugiums are extremely important, and vital to a successful reef tank, IMO. If you have the space for a DSB, go for it. Don't ever mess with it though. If you stir it up, you'll have trouble. That's why it should be plumbed separately -- in case you do have to get in there for some reason, you can just disconnect it from the tank and do your thing.

 

[wontonflip]

Up until a month ago, my 10g had a dsb. My 45g had just enough sand to cover the bottom, and some extra "padding". My 125 is the same as the 45 -- just has enough to cover the bottom. I hated my 10g's dsb after a while. because I had a poor setup to begin with, I was constantly siphoning out the sand, and I always worried about a nitrate spike. Luckily, it never caused a problem, but I just didn't like how it looked.

My 45g has a refugium in my sump under the tank is using miracle mud, and only 1" deep. So I have no experience using a dsb in there. I'm definitely glad to have my fuge...I have so many pods...big ole fat ones..just havin' a party down there. I have very little algae problems in the main tank. I recently started getting hair algae, but probably cuz my circulation sucks, but otherwise, not an unbearable algae problem.