refugium help

[LuckyReefer]

so i bought a ball of chaeto from algae barn and im wondering if i could use that open section with my return pump as a refugium, i feel like since from what ive heard your skimmer needs to be the last part of the filtration before it reaches the return so it kinda turned me away but i just want some thoughts from other people

 

[CasperOe]

There's no issue doing what you want to do, just make sure that no algae passes in through your return pump.

The skimmer may remove elements beneficial to the algae however. Setting up a fuge like yours do involve a wee bit of trail and error.

What are you gonna light it with? And what do you wish to achieve with your fuge?

If you are dead set on running a refugium, it is fairly cheap to build a custom sump to fit your layout and needs

 

[Uncle99]

You could but the macro algae as it grows may plug up your return, or block the ATO sensor.

I’d keep a refuge as a separate area on its own.

 

[LuckyReefer]

There's no issue doing what you want to do, just make sure that no algae passes in through your return pump.

The skimmer may remove elements beneficial to the algae however. Setting up a fuge like yours do involve a wee bit of trail and error.

What are you gonna light it with? And what do you wish to achieve with your fuge?

If you are dead set on running a refugium, it is fairly cheap to build a custom sump to fit your layout and needs

yeah that’s what i was worried about and plus it’s egg crate i’d probably would need some some of acrylic, there is a small section right after the inlet but it’s at a weird angle so it would just be hard to manage, im just trying to get my nitrates and phosphates down so thats why i got the chaeto ball, they tested at 100 nitrate and 0.163 phosphate, which i know why i just switched over to a sump and skimmer maybe a couple weeks ago and i was over feeding everyday and so now im just gonna have to rely on shorter larger water changes and less feeding and hope for the best

 

[Dburr1014]

yeah that’s what i was worried about and plus it’s egg crate i’d probably would need some some of acrylic, there is a small section right after the inlet but it’s at a weird angle so it would just be hard to manage, im just trying to get my nitrates and phosphates down so thats why i got the chaeto ball, they tested at 100 nitrate and 0.163 phosphate, which i know why i just switched over to a sump and skimmer maybe a couple weeks ago and i was over feeding everyday and so now im just gonna have to rely on shorter larger water changes and less feeding and hope for the best

You could do a hang on refuge, or just do an algae scrubber.