Refugium old school now?

[Timfish]

Delbeck and SPrung were talking about both back in the 90s so it all seems old school to me. Marketing hype is what's different.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I love running a big refugium and an oversized skimmer. I stock heavily and feed heavily, and use it for both nutrient export and for biodiversity. I have a constant flow of different pods to the display and a nice place to stick the fish or inverts that misbehave.

 

[topjimmy]

I absolutely remember the days of insanely deep sand beds.

I remember the Jaubert System using an UGF and deep sand

 

[topjimmy]

I actually miss the days of books and having to look things up that way lol.

Still read my Reef books, Thiel,Sprung,Tullock. I remember getting FAMA and reading it over and over.

 

[neonreef3d]

every reef system in nature has a mangrove refuge.... think about it.....

everyone is trying to mimic nature. duh...

 

[Gtinnel]

I remember the Jaubert System using an UGF and deep sand

I do remember the common use of under gravel filters with a deep sand bed, but I’m not sure if that’s what the Jaubert system is. I either am not familiar with it or I just didn’t know the name to go with the system.

 

[gbru316]

every reef system in nature has a mangrove refuge.... think about it.....

everyone is trying to mimic nature. duh...

Tomorrow, I'm filing a patent on the next big reefkeeping method that mimics our oceans:

Called the biomplast, with all its nooks, crannies, and anaerobic chambers it's perfect for harboring all the microflora and microfauna found in the oceans. Guaranteed to revitalize your reef tank.

Kits start at $250.

 

[topjimmy]

I do remember the common use of under gravel filters with a deep sand bed, but I’m not sure if that’s what the Jaubert system is. I either am not familiar with it or I just didn’t know the name to go with the system.

The UGF created an anoxic zone (theoretically) under the sand bed. This plenum of oxygen low water was supposed to host bacteria that specialized in nitrate removal. I used it in my very first "reef"

 

[hans4811]

I’ve run both ATS and Fuge and just found the fuge to be easier on maintenance and more beneficial. Wouldn’t have a tank without one…like the KISS principal on keeping a tank.

No socks, fuge, miracle mud, live rock behind skimmer, chaeto and Caulerpa that grow like weeds, pods, bristle worms, stars, snails…etc. Pull out a handful of it every few weeks…done ! I dose daily only NP-Bacto-Balance and PNS Probio bacteria every other day for nutrient export.…N03 and P04 are always 2.0ish and 0.05ish…

 

[MiamiAG]

The Algal Turf Scrubber seems to have been invented by Dr. Adey back in the 70s/80s. I remember reading about it in his book back in the day.

According to the Wiki - "Dr. Adey licensed his patent to very few individuals, who for a short number of years sold a limited number of aquarium scrubbers to hobbyists. The complexity of the design, however, and the cost of the license, caused the scrubber units to be very expensive. This, combined with the fact that the units were noisy, splashy, and unreliable (the dumping mechanism would get stuck) caused the sales to be slow. The scrubbers were just starting to make headway into the aquarium hobby in the 1990s when Adey decided to withdraw his license and no longer allow anybody to make or sell them. He turned his attention instead to commercial and industrial applications, and entered private business making large scale scrubber installations for lakes and rivers."

I remember one of the license holders was a lawyer who very aggressively defended his license. Unfortunately, all of this made the ATS very expensive and the design never really improved due to lack of competition and broader acceptance.

I believe the patent has lapsed and so we see more companies taking on the ATS with new designs and improving on the system.

 

[Gobi-Wan]

I wonder if refugiums are being phased out by algae scrubbers. They fill a similar role.

I tried a fuge when I first started and found it difficult to get the flow right and grow chaeto. I built an algae scrubber and had a lot more success. I still prefer the approach of letting nature do what it does and use that to the tank’s advantage rather than adding reactors.

 

[gbru316]

Many of these methods are detailed in Calfo’s Book of Coral Propagation.


Anthony ran a commercial aquaculture facility in a greenhouse outside of Pittsburgh for years. The book details his experiences.

it’s a must-read, IMO.

 

[Harold999]

The latest automatic filterrollers take all the nutrients out before they turn into nitrates and phosphates, makes a fuge less necessary.

 

[Rawsreef]

I used to run a 90G mixed reef with a 20ish gallon sump, never had the room for a fuge but always wanted one. Always dealt with high N and P.

Recently upgraded to a 220g with a 50ish gallon sump, with same livestock as my 90G, and same skimmer. Only now I have a refugium chamber on this sump. I put a ball of chaeto in it about the size of a baseball, maybe a bit bigger. In about 2 months my chaeto ball has turned into a chaeto forest. Nitrates are now stable around 2PPM. I’ve actually begun to feed more just to try to keep my nutrients up.

I’m definitely a big fan of the fuge for nutrient export

 

[PeterEde]

On a budget? then surely a refugium is the cheapest means of reducing nitrates?
Or space. I have a minireef 120. The sump is pretty small. No room for all the reactors

 

[Kenneth Wingerter]

Called the biomplast, with all its nooks, crannies, and anaerobic chambers it's perfect for harboring all the microflora and microfauna found in the oceans. Guaranteed to revitalize your reef tank.

Made with a biodegradable plastic by chance?

 

[Kenneth Wingerter]

Considering the word biome is being used currently.....I think not. Time to dust off my copy of Dynamic Aquaria.

Agreed, check out the latest issue of Coral Magazine.