Planning first fuge, looking for helpful tips

[Reefs and Geeks]

I'm planning on starting my first fuge. I've wanted one for a long time, but never had one due to limited sump space. I'm going to be upgrading to a much larger sump eventually, but am biting the bullet and making some room in my current sump to try a smaller fuge.

A few questions:
Does Cheto need to be acclimated to the light like coral? if so, what's the recommendation for that? Anything to look out for to show it needs more or less light?

Can multiple types of macroalgea be kept at once, or is it best to keep just one?

Does the red type of fuge algea do a good job of filtration like cheato? Any recomendations on the best types is appriciated. Main priority is water filterability, secondary is looks.

Are there any types of filtration I should avoid if running a fuge? is GFO okay? is carbon dosing okay?

A fuge absorbs nitrate and phosphate, right? seems simple enough, but not sure if it absorbs them directly, or absorbs ammonia or other waste prior to it breaking down and the end result is less phosphate and nitrate.

 

[acbaldwin]

Never had a problem with just dumping chaeto in, no acclimation.

Supposedly some macros will try to nuke other macros. I can't say - I've had tons of different macros without issue.

Red algaes in my experience grow quickly, but nothing grows as quickly as caulerpa. C. prolifera is a very fast grower that is hardy, easy to control, and attractive, great starting point.

Couldn't speak to your question about filtration - between a filter sock and macros (and occasional carbon) I don't do anything else.

Fuge will blow through nitrates and phosphates once it's going. I specifically dose N, P, and K along with other stuff just to keep up with the nutrient demand.

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

Thanks for the response. It does seem like a fuge is going to be a nice addition, and pretty easy to implement.

Anyone have any experience carbon dosing while running a fuge? I'm guessing since carbon dosing is meant to remove nitrate and phosphate via bacteria, that it can out-compete the fuge and starve it, or limit its effectiveness to some level. I'm thinking I'd back off of carbon dosing when I get my fuge up and running, and may eventually stop carbon dosing all together if the fuge is able to control nutrients well enough on its own.

Same thing with GFO, anyone feel like the GFO will starve the fuge in some way? I run GFO now, but if the fuge works well enough on it's own, I'd like to stop using it to save on cost and the occasional maintenance.

I do plan on having a fairly large fuge for my size tank. Looking to make a DIY sump for my 150 gallon display, and looking at sumps in the 75-125 gallon range. I assume the fuge will be a major part of the filtration, so Im planning on that making up a good portion of the sump.

 

[lapin]

Anyone have any experience carbon dosing while running a fuge?

I carbon dose and have 20 gallon fuge. It has not had any effect on my Ulva in my fuge. I also have a basket of red macro in my overflow box. It has remained the same size and not grown. The reason I started dosing is I got some NPS coral and was feeding pretty heavy. My N and P got a bit out of hand. They are now back down to .1 P and 5 N.

Same thing with GFO, anyone feel like the GFO will starve the fuge in some way? I run GFO now, but if the fuge works well enough on it's own, I'd like to stop using it to save on cost and the occasional maintenance.

I run GFO also. As long as you maintain at least .05 P you should be fine with owing macro. If your fuge is big enough you will prob have enough macros and not have to run GFO or carbon dose. But it really depends on how much you feed (bio load).
I just did an ICP water test. The only thing im low on is iodine.