How To Set Up A Refugium

During my many years as a reef keeper I never used a refugium on one of my tanks, never. When I outset entered the hobby I used Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) to keep phosphates in check and a skimmer and h2o changes to manage nitrates. GFO is piece of cake to use but there are some drawbacks. One problem is that it not simply binds phosphates only valuable trace elements as well. GFO can besides stupor corals and cause color loss if used likewise aggressively.

I decided natural means was a ameliorate pick for nutrient control and so I began using a Pax Bellum ARID Algae Reactor. These reactors export nutrients by promoting the growth of chaetomorpha (chaeto) inside a chamber lit by LEDs. The Arid is extremely efficient and requires some cognition of h2o chemical science to optimize chaeto growth. Nitrate dosing is required and with some tanks it may be necessary to dose phosphates.

Some other choice to export nutrients via natural means is an algae scrubber, a h2o filtering device which uses calorie-free to grow algae. A refugium is a 3rd selection and many folks accept had success using either a 'fuge' or an algae scrubber. Personally, I have not tried either one so I felt it was time to experiment. I opted for a DIY refugium since it would be cheaper and easier to setup.

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DIY Refugium Components

I have a custom Royal Exclusiv sump and fortunately there was room right later my skimmer to add a refugium. I wanted circulation going through the refugium so I used four pieces of black egg crate and attached them together with some cypher ties. My DIY refugium measured 18″ 50 ten ten″ Westward ten 12″ T and I decided to light it with a Kessil H380 Algae Grow Light. The Kessil is on for nine hours (12m – 9a) and gear up to the "bloom" setting. A modest powerhead inside the sump pushes h2o through the egg crate.

Not just is this actually easy to make, merely it is also very merely to clean and maintain. Each calendar week I remove the chaeto and rinse it in some tank water to launder off the biofilm. I too pull the egg crate out and clean it with a scrub castor in my slop sink to remove whatsoever nuisance algae. Additionally, I siphon up all of the detritus that collects underneath the chaeto at the lesser of the refugium. I would say it takes 5 minutes, tops, to perform all of these tasks.

Then how did the DIY refugium piece of work? Well, my chaeto grows and I harvest some every calendar week. My nitrates are around 5 ppm and my phosphates are in the .10 to .13 ppm range, a bit high merely the corals look great and so I am not too worried. I do dose 4-5 mls of phosphates per day so perhaps I will reduce the dosage. Overall, I am very pleased with my DIY refugium experiment. Easy to setup, functional and a breeze to maintain. Now that\'s a nice trifecta!

Boosted Resources

If you would like some help with a new tank build, including help designing a custom aquarium, or help re-configuring your current setup so you can visit this folio for more data. And if you are looking to add some equipment, I practise sell GHL, Pax Bellum, Reef Octopus Calcium and Kalk Reactors and Royal Exclusiv products, including Dreamboxes, which is the equipment I apply and recommend. I also sell Reef Brite metal halide and LED fixtures every bit well equally Maxspect & IceCap Gyres.

Equally for boosted insights and information, delight explore my many other reef tank and SPS related manufactures likewise equally my YouTube channel. For an even deeper dive into reef tank intendance you lot can check out my Reef Keeping Primary Class. This online form is an immersive and ane of a kind educational tool designed to help reef aquarium hobbyists build and maintain a beautiful SPS reef tank. The course is a series of video presentations with some supplemental video from my YouTube aqueduct. At that place are also quizzes to help students retain and sympathise the information presented in the course.

Need some frags…..I tin can help with that likewise 🙂 Please visit my SPS Frag shop to run across what is bachelor.