First time Fuge user

[bingus]

I’m on day 3 of my tank cycle and i wanted to know what I need to order for my refugium. I planned to buy from algae barn and get chaeto and I’m seeing these starter pack things and other stuff. What all do I need to get for my refugium? When do I add it during my cycle? Thank you for all and any advice!

 

[Bradley2448]

Biggest factor IMO is a quality light you are confident in. Being able to grow your chaeto well is great especially down the road for strong nutrient exportation at least in what I’ve experienced. Lots of reefers set their fuge up differently, but I have always stuck to bare bottom, chaeto, couple chunks of lava rock. Others get into the refugium mud or biological bricks, each has its own pros and cons

 

[zukihara]

Don't count on algae barn to have what you need in stock sadly. Have a back up plan for sure.

 

[Acros]

Wait until you see nitrate and phosphate reading to add chaeto. It’s just going to die if your water is too clean.

 

[NJBillyV]

I always had difficulty getting chaeto to grow until I found the right light, that's the key.

 

[LegendaryCG]

You need to wait a couple weeks before starting a fuge. Once you have algae visible in your tank you can add it. Macro algae consumes a lot of nutrients and will just die if you don’t have them present.
Also trace elements most don’t test are important to keep macros growing.

 

[Ippyroy]

There is no need to add a fuge until it is needed. With that said, I would add some live sand and some rubble rock as soon as possible if the fuge is big enough. I would hold off on the macro algae until your tank is little bit more stable. Nutrients can fluctuate a lot on new tanks.