Cryptic Fuge

[Fishcrazy06]

I am hearing more and more about cryptic fuge's and am tossing around the idea of possibly implementing one. Does anyone here run one of these by chance? If so how do you have it setup? What does it all entail? What kind of water flow? Basically I am looking for any and all information that I can get. Pictures of your setups would be awesome as well.

Eric

 

[customcolor]

i looked into it eric and to what i know is that the flow is to be slow and the water need to be filtered through the sump and skimmer first..reason for that is so that the sponges can grab very small particles that are in the water that have not be filtered out.

so when a cryptic has ben set up for a wile it will act like a polisher for a system.
just add some rock low flow and next to no or no light at all and let it slowly grow

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Is there no one running a cryptic fuge?

Eric

 

[AlexStinson]

I guess I sort of have one, I run a very very old fluval canister on my small tank, filled with only 2-3" pieces of live rock. It has turned into a haven for amphipods and sponges and whatnot

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

I run one, but not tri-zonal like tyree (which consists of different flow-through rates, and holes in baffles to ensure correct particulate size). Mine is simply a section of my sump filled with LR rubble (about fist size and smaller, nothing really small thoguh), which I call my "rubble tower." Water is forced into the bottom of the section then flows up through a series of holes into the return pump section. The water passes through all the rocks where several species of sponge grow anf reproduce along with tons of lil pods and what-not.

I used to run this section prior to my skimmer (and no filter sock) but changed that in my recent upgrade. Granted sponges do pull out different particulates, but not all, and eventually deterius began to build up due to the lower, broad flow moving through this section. I implemented a filter sock along with the skimmer in first chamber and it's much better IMO.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Hmmm okay I think I have a picture of that now. Do you run any other Macro or just the cryptic fuge?

Eric

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

No macro, just rubble and sponges. I have at least five species of sponges, three of them came on their own (grown off of live rock) and I introduced two others.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

And no lighting what so ever over these? Does the water have to flow slow, medium, or fast? Does it have to flow from bottom to top? could it flow from left to right? Did you just use the liverock? No substrate? This could be a pretty cool little added biotope to the reef tank!!!!!

Eric

 

[customcolor]

slow flow so you dont wreck the sponges and so the "snow" can fall on to the sponges

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

And no lighting what so ever over these?

Correct, no light at all. This is an awesome advantage IMO over a refugium with chaeto because your sump stays so clean! No BS algae all over the walls and in your nice skimmer, etc.

Does the water have to flow slow, medium, or fast?

It should be on the slower end of things, but I run mine so that most particulate matter will not settle to the bottom. once a week or so I turkey baste the bottom to bring anything that's settled into suspension.

Does it have to flow from bottom to top?

No, but this helps keep everything suspended in my application. If I let the flow come in from the top detrius and such would settle faster.

could it flow from left to right?

Yes, this is how mine is (well mine is right to left, but same thing). It enters the section below a baffle from the right heading left, and after the baffle flows up.

Did you just use the liverock? No substrate?

Correct, just LR rubble, no substrate. Substrate will collect detrius and will not benefit to this type of "fuge" area.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Hmmmm I'm thinking I may end up going this way!!! Sounds very interesting!

Eric

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Now I just need to figure out a good way to block the light out. Can they have some light once in a while? Like when I turn the lights on in the fishroom that shines through the top maybe? I could make something to put over the sides that I could move out of the way once in a while to check things out? Do you have any snaps of your setup? How do you keep it dark?

Eric

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

I recommend no light, or as little as possible in order to keep algae growth at bay. A standard room light really won't hurt anything though. Is your sump in a fishroom rather than in a stand?

I don't have any current pics showing the rubble tower with sponge growth, but here are a couple during initial set-up. The cryptic area is where the single rock is sitting in the sump on the left side. It's now full to the water line with rubble (that rock became rubble ) and lots of sponges inhabit that area:

Here's another idea, but it would be more labor intensive... Erik had his sump designed with a blacked-out "upflow" style rubble tower/cryptic area. Here's his build thread on RC: Reef Central Online Community - AgentSPS' 300 Gallon ***DreamReef***

 

[Sikryd]

I pretty much run one too. I just didn't know it had a name
With my system so low on nutrients I can't grow macro worth a crap so I bailed on that idea. I use the fuge light to look under the tank.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

I pretty much run one too. I just didn't know it had a name
With my system so low on nutrients I can't grow macro worth a crap so I bailed on that idea. I use the fuge light to look under the tank.

Grab different types of sponges from LFS as you can and toss 'em down there... sponges are SUPER efficient filter feeders and suck up all kinds of nutrients for ya! I suggest going for sponges that are growing proficiently on their own in tanks, NOT the red ball or branching type sponges you see offered for sale - these are not what we're looking for. There are many ways to run a "cryptic fuge" but the idea is all similar.

I've slowed down on dosing my bacteria driven regimen after seeing how efficient the sponge growth is compared to the nutrient load.

 

[meisen]

A friend of mine in MARS had one for a while. His was just a low tech maxijet-fed colored tupperware container. Multiple problems with it though so I wouldnt recommend that route. The tupperware softened over time (I think a combination of the heated water and the UV) and slowly spread. He bolted three metal rods (!) into it to keep it together then closed the thing back up. He had me over to try and figure out why his corals were dying and I asked him what was in the box. We opened it, apparently for the first time in nearly a year, and inside the rods had corroded and were dropping stuff into the tank. But the sponge and microfauna in there was incredible. At least five different sponge species had grown into nearly all the live rock rubble in there and whole colonies of mysid shrimp and microbrittle stars were living in there as well. So not sure that was the source of the corals dying anyway but still probably a bad idea.

I think he had about 150 gph of flow moving through a 20 gallon fuge. My guess would be that different sponge species will colonize based on the flow rate you set especially if you have a lot of rock rubble to provide seed colonies. Now I wish I had a picture of it.

 

[meisen]

If I were setting one up I would use a drilled tank, set up just like a fuge next to the main tank. Either run a small line off your main return or have a small pump to feed it. I would black out three sides of the tank with paint and use a piece of vinyl taped to the front (so I can peek in there to see how things are developing. You can also pick up a glass cover for the tank and paint that as well. Probably put a few inches of live sand on the bottom and just some random rubble pieces. Chances are with a few varied pieces of rubble you'll pick up some hardy sponges that will grow for you. Try the bottom of a live rock vat at the LFS to start. I might add a section of crushed coral and/or crushed shells to provide a refuge for micro stars and pods as well. With the slower flow than a typical fuge you wont have as much getting swept into the main system but it should still provide some food for the tank.

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Super and thanks for all the ideas. The Fuge tank that I am going to be using is a going to be a 50 gallon oceanic. Going to drill it and have the water enter via that and probably silicone in two pieced of glass one for where the water enters and one for where the water leaves. Will be fed via my return pump split off. So I can dial the flow back that way. Never thought about the crushed coral and all. Hmmmm anyone else here have any? Keep the ideas coming. I love hearing about this. Liking this idea a lot better than the "normal" fuge. Will this help eat up the excess nutrients in the tank though?

 

[Fishcrazy06]

Here is another thought I was thinking of. since I will be using a 3 ft tank could I split the tank in half. And make one side the cryptic fuge and the other side a "normal" fuge? Or would this be pointless and redundant? would I multiply my micro-fauna then? Any thoughts or ideas on this? I could paint the glass black seperating the two parts and then also get the top painted as well.

Eric

 

[customcolor]

it will be hard to paint the glass and make it stick when its under the salt water..i learned when i painted my calflo on the inside...well i had pain chips in my sump for like over a year