Refugium or Protein skimmer? or neither?

Mikeltee · Dec 18, 2023

Aquamaxx Bullet 3 HOB skimmer on your sump and a fuge. I have it on a 40g and it's awesome! It would meet your demands. If you feed heavily, you could add macroalgae to compensate where the skimmer falls short. Undersized skimmers are better than oversized skimmers. Your pods will keep nutrients in check too. I culture pods and phyto. It takes 30min a week and it's a lot of fun. You will never fall short on food and you only need to buy the pods once. You can use reef nutrition phyto feast instead of culturing phyto. The 32oz would last you it's 8 month expiration.

permanaccour · Dec 19, 2023

Mikeltee said:
Aquamaxx Bullet 3 HOB skimmer on your sump and a fuge. I have it on a 40g and it's awesome! It would meet your demands. If you feed heavily, you could add macroalgae to compensate where the skimmer falls short. Undersized skimmers are better than oversized skimmers. Your pods will keep nutrients in check too. I culture pods and phyto. It takes 30min a week and it's a lot of fun. You will never fall short on food and you only need to buy the pods once. You can use reef nutrition phyto feast instead of culturing phyto. The 32oz would last you it's 8 month expiration.

I was definitely considering the Aquamaxx bullet 3...glad to hear you have a great success with it.

is the phyto for the pods? or what are you using the phyto for?

Mikeltee · Dec 19, 2023

permanaccour said:
I was definitely considering the Aquamaxx bullet 3...glad to hear you have a great success with it.

is the phyto for the pods? or what are you using the phyto for?

Phyto is for the pods mainly for now that my tank is young. When dosed to the tank, they will consume nutrients until they are swallowed up by the rest of the life in the tank. Corals also consume phyto but right now I don't have any.

Spare time · Dec 19, 2023

I have to disagree with everyone. If your goal is waste management, a refugium is better. They remove nitrate/nitrite/ammonia, provide oxygen, raise pH, are vastly cheaper, provide free fish food depending on the macroalgae, and require little maintenance. Skimmers aerate the water and can help remove some organics before they are broken down. They can't do anything for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and phosphate on their own, will probably not raise the pH on their own(may in fact lower it), can be noise, require cleaning, can be finicky when certain foods are added, remove bacteria and other food from the water column (which also removes competition from algae), etc. I like skimmers for aeration, but that can be done without spending a vast amount of money.

permanaccour · Dec 20, 2023

Spare time said:
I have to disagree with everyone. If your goal is waste management, a refugium is better. They remove nitrate/nitrite/ammonia, provide oxygen, raise pH, are vastly cheaper, provide free fish food depending on the macroalgae, and require little maintenance. Skimmers aerate the water and can help remove some organics before they are broken down. They can't do anything for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and phosphate on their own, will probably not raise the pH on their own(may in fact lower it), can be noise, require cleaning, can be finicky when certain foods are added, remove bacteria and other food from the water column (which also removes competition from algae), etc. I like skimmers for aeration, but that can be done without spending a vast amount of money.

curious what would be your preferred method of aeration and whether there is a method of aeration that can share the same chamber as the refugium

Spare time · Dec 20, 2023

permanaccour said:
curious what would be your preferred method of aeration and whether there is a method of aeration that can share the same chamber as the refugium

I don't see a need for anything additional than surface agitation and the sump drain.

You can also just use an air stone for aeration. How effective that is probably depends on the air stone size. I don't like the noise and splash from air stones

ChrisfromBrick · Jul 2, 2024

Spare time said:
I have to disagree with everyone. If your goal is waste management, a refugium is better. They remove nitrate/nitrite/ammonia, provide oxygen, raise pH, are vastly cheaper, provide free fish food depending on the macroalgae, and require little maintenance. Skimmers aerate the water and can help remove some organics before they are broken down. They can't do anything for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and phosphate on their own, will probably not raise the pH on their own(may in fact lower it), can be noise, require cleaning, can be finicky when certain foods are added, remove bacteria and other food from the water column (which also removes competition from algae), etc. I like skimmers for aeration, but that can be done without spending a vast amount of money.

Never heard of a skimmer lowering PH. But, agree that a fuge will do more to remove high nutes. I say do both. I may go with a new sump that I have laying around that is bigger that will accommodate a little fuge OR get a macroalgae reactor. Probably the former. My sump is not well designed at all.

twentyleagues · Jul 2, 2024

ChrisfromBrick said:
Never heard of a skimmer lowering PH. But, agree that a fuge will do more to remove high nutes. I say do both. I may go with a new sump that I have laying around that is bigger that will accommodate a little fuge OR get a macroalgae reactor. Probably the former. My sump is not well designed at all.

Depends on the co2 content of the room air. If you are scrubbing the air or drawing from outside should raise ph.

GARRIGA · Jul 2, 2024

Spare time said:
I have to disagree with everyone. If your goal is waste management, a refugium is better. They remove nitrate/nitrite/ammonia, provide oxygen, raise pH, are vastly cheaper, provide free fish food depending on the macroalgae, and require little maintenance. Skimmers aerate the water and can help remove some organics before they are broken down. They can't do anything for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and phosphate on their own, will probably not raise the pH on their own(may in fact lower it), can be noise, require cleaning, can be finicky when certain foods are added, remove bacteria and other food from the water column (which also removes competition from algae), etc. I like skimmers for aeration, but that can be done without spending a vast amount of money.

Known this since the 80s and I used to distribute skimmers (or attempted to) LFS. Going to experiment with advance oxidation to resolve the toxins a skimmer removes. Ran 24/7 that Fuge will likely provide more than adequate air exchange and my room co2 too high to benefit from anything less than co2 scrubbed skimmer and that can get expensive and too much extra work.