refugium questions

ZOOT098

ZOOT098

Reefing newb
hello all
i am in the process of my second build
72 gallon bowfront
i have decided not to go with a plenum, after researching further if 80-90% the substarte surface isnt exposed it wont work right
however since i made my stand a little roomier i am putting in a fuge
it will be in a seperate tank from my sump
i will pump out of my sump, into the fuge then back to the sump

question1
any recomendations on flow through the refugium i was thinking of keeping it slow at around 60-80 gallons per hour

question 2
i was going to use refugium mud as the substrate, any reccomendations on what brand and how deep the substrate should be

question 3
should the fuge be started right away, or should it wait a month or two

thanks in advance

i will post pics of the new build as soon as i take some
 
#1-I'd say that 60-80GPH would be fine for the flow through.
#2-I've heard that the mud was way over priced for you get in it.So I've never even looked at it.But I'm guessing that like sand,you'd want at least 6" or so.
#3-Fire that puppy up from the get go.The fuge is like the rest of the tank.Its got to mature and cycle before you get the full benefit of it.
 
Question about Refugium - I saw this on sale: In Tank Refugium and wondered if it is the appropriate tool/method for introducing fish?

Many of the fish I've been looking at (even the ones in the database on this site) say 'introduce last' - but if I'm starting from scratch, how can every fish be last? Is this the method of doing it?

Would this be effective for use in a 30g BioCube?
 
OmegaOmega said:
Question about Refugium - I saw this on sale: In Tank Refugium and wondered if it is the appropriate tool/method for introducing fish?

Many of the fish I've been looking at (even the ones in the database on this site) say 'introduce last' - but if I'm starting from scratch, how can every fish be last? Is this the method of doing it?

Would this be effective for use in a 30g BioCube?
Click to expand...

depends on the fish you want to add
 
sen5241b said:
Recent research has suggested DSBs are a complete waste of time. I would add the fuge right away. Adding a large fuge or sump later could cause another cyle.

Reef Central Online Community - New Nitrate theory
Click to expand...


i have to siffer a bit from this. i have a plenum and dsb with no ill effects my nitrates are at zero and stay there. why would adding a fuge or sump later cause a cycle? have never heard this before unless you fill it with uncured rock.
 
a plenum is a dead water space under the sand for anarobic bacteria to live it is made with a pipe structure and a a peice of eggcrate wraped in screen so that only dead water in in that space no sand nothing but water.
 
well the lion will more than likely eat the clown. lione need to be with fish larger than them. and if this is for your biocube a lion or an eel will not be a good addition may be for a dawrf lion maybe but that will be the only fish i would put in there.
 
daugherty said:
well the lion will more than likely eat the clown. lione need to be with fish larger than them. and if this is for your biocube a lion or an eel will not be a good addition may be for a dawrf lion maybe but that will be the only fish i would put in there.
Click to expand...

Alright, good to note - lion's out... Is it a bad idea to have a clown if I don't have a host anemone?

ARe there no small eels that would be good in a 30g/BioCube? I've seen a couple in the BioCube at the fish supply store where i purchased the equipment.
 
no they do not need a nem to live and in your tank without a good light upgrade one wont live in there anyway.
 
daugherty said:
no they do not need a nem to live and in your tank without a good light upgrade one wont live in there anyway.
Click to expand...

By 'light upgrade' is it as simple as just getting a different bulb - are BioCubes 'universal' like that? Or would the entire system (hood) need to be changed to support the type of bulb needed?
 
you would be tering off the top of the cube to put a new light on it or get an upgrade but they are avbout as much as you biocube was anywere from 200 to 360 dollars to upgrade the light.
 
Eels will also eat small fish, the smallest eel will be a snowflake, but still to big for your bio cube.

Back to your mud question, you can get mud between $40 to $100. I have used both in my FOWLR and my softie tank I use the cheaper stuff. In my SPS tanks I use the more expensive stuff. I have also ran tanks with sand instead of mud, but have found that the mud adds lots of good stuff to the tank.
 
The 30g biocube at the LFS I bought it from has their tank STUFFED... Even to a newbie I can tell it appears to be a *bit* too much. However, they've had it for three years and everything looks healthy. They have an intake chemical indicator (which I didn't even know existed, it gives you consistent readings on pH, Ammonia, temp, etc.) and everything looks good.

The thing is, they have big fish and an eel plus anemones and corals. I don't want to be cruel to livestock by doing what they're doing, but everyone keeps saying no no no - how are they doing it?
 
The lights you have won't be sufficient for an anemone. And your clown will be perfectly happy without one. In fact, anemones are some of the hardest animals to keep in this hobby, and they are dangerous to every other animal in the tank. It's best to leave them for large, mature tanks.

A lionfish and eel would also be too big for your tank. Unfortunately, with Biocubes, you have to work within the constraints of the small tank size. So large predator fish are out.
 
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