Refugium Refusal : Why would you NOT run a refugium?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

The refugium is an auxiliary tank on your main, display tank. It serves as a sort of refuge for both primary producers and primary consumers (i.e. intermediaries) such as pods. There, desirable and beneficial macroalgae are cultivated out of the reach of large, gluttonous herbivores such as tangs. Pods proliferate there too, safe from the constant predatory pressure of small fishes like damsels, gobies, etc. Even so, as the pods reproduce, they drift out of the refugium into the main tank to continuously feed fishes, corals, and so on. As the macroalgal bed grows to maximal carrying capacity, it is harvested and either discarded or (better yet!) fed out as a nutritious live veggie for fish and invert herbivores in the main tank. - Thanks AlgaeBarn

What's not to love about refugiums and why would you not set one up on your reef tank? Let's talk about it!

1. Why don't you have a refugium running on your reef tank?

2. If you are running a refugium tell us about how they are worth setting up and maintaining?

image via @Andrew Mc and his "above his display" refugium.

 

[atoll]

Prefer my waterfall ATS and don't have the space for a good sized fuge.

 

[homer1475]

With my WC shedule, and my tank is very mature, I have no need for a refuguim. My nutrients stay in check.

On that note, I do run a turf scrubbr which is more or less the same concept of a refugium without the need of extra space.

 

[sp1187]

using an up flow floating algae scrubber in the sump.
sort of a floating refugium.

 

[User]

I have zero excess nutrients and have to dose nitrate and phosphate despite feeding heavy. Why would I add chaeto just to remove nutrients I’m deliberately adding?

my next build- I just moved house- is going toninclude a display macro algae refugium, and I’ll dose specifically for that- but I’m not dosing for chaeto. Too ugly. Dragons breath, blue hypnea, shaving brush, manatee grass etc

 

[tippin.turtle]

Running bio pellets in a reactor although I have a refugium. May have used my refugium but could never obtain algae because Algae Barn is "always" out of stock.

 

[Jeffcb]

Before harvest in 900 Fowlr.

 

[MarshallB]

I do run a refugium. I feel they are useful for newer tanks that are not mature enough to uptake all nutrients introduced into the system. My 125 gallon display has been up for almost a year and I have not had to clean algae out of the display tank ever. The refugium will get covered in all kinds of algae, but it takes maybe 10 minutes to clean out and maintain a month.

The refugium is just another type of filtration with added benefits. It's needs to be tuned and adjusted periodically. It's very easy to strip nitrate and phosphate out of the water column when running a refugium. However, they are a great home for microfana like copepods. It also helps buffer your PH at night if ran on a opposite schedule from your display lighting.

In the future when my corals mature into colonies I doubt i will need to rely on the refugium for nutrient control, however i will keep it around on a lower light schedule to keep the pod population up.

 

[PeterB113]

I don't have a refugium because I have a 20g long and never knew I needed a one lol. I thought they were just used to grow beneficial algea??

 

[Zoe’s Reef]

I have a refugium ready to go, just not running because I can't find chaeto

 

[AJsReef]

I simply don't have the need, with my Clarisea and under powered skimmer I still have to dose N/P. I would love a refugium but seems counter productive to have to dose even higher volumes in my case.

 

[iMi]

Space limitation and the desire not to have additional equipment to maintain.

 

[landlubber]

my refugium sucks. it grew chaeto for 2 months and over the past 18 month has essentially struggled just to stay alive.

 

[atoll]

I simply don't have the need, with my Clarisea and under powered skimmer I still have to dose N/P. I would love a refugium but seems counter productive to have to dose even higher volumes in my case.

Dump.one or the other. I would remove the Clarisea and see how it goes. I don't use any form.if prefiltration.

 

[FBAA]

I have a refugium ready to go, just not running because I can't find chaeto

Check these guys out. https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/

I got mine going but it's a small amounts. I anchored it to a rock so It could get going. I also got my pods from them.

 

[Gogol_frag]

Prefer my waterfall ATS and don't have the space for a good sized fuge.

The refugium is an auxiliary tank on your main, display tank. It serves as a sort of refuge for both primary producers and primary consumers (i.e. intermediaries) such as pods. There, desirable and beneficial macroalgae are cultivated out of the reach of large, gluttonous herbivores such as tangs. Pods proliferate there too, safe from the constant predatory pressure of small fishes like damsels, gobies, etc. Even so, as the pods reproduce, they drift out of the refugium into the main tank to continuously feed fishes, corals, and so on. As the macroalgal bed grows to maximal carrying capacity, it is harvested and either discarded or (better yet!) fed out as a nutritious live veggie for fish and invert herbivores in the main tank. - Thanks AlgaeBarn

What's not to love about refugiums and why would you not set one up on your reef tank? Let's talk about it!

1. Why don't you have a refugium running on your reef tank?

2. If you are running a refugium tell us about how they are worth setting up and maintaining?

image via @Andrew Mc and his "above his display" refugium.

I voted "No space, or equipment".

I don't run a sump to avoid the introduction of a siphon. Also, since I run a Peninsula-style tank, the one-tank-wall for HOBs has already gotten pretty busy with my HOB skimmer (Deltec MCE 601) and a DIY shelf for the Neptune Trident (perched above the water level to avoid a siphon). So I kinda have ran out of space.

Similar to some other posters, I kinda get the benefits of a fuge, but from seperately controlled systems. I run an ATS (SantaMonica Drop 1.6x), which keeps the nutrients in check (sorta) ... Nitrates at 0.03 ppm, Phosphates at 0.22 ppm (this needs work). I also seperately culture rotifers and copepods using culture kits from Reef Nutrition and Poseidon Reef Systems, respectively. My zoo plankton population is off-the-charts.

So, overall this assemblage has worked for me thus far, to help fill my fuge-sized-void.

 

[BOWHUNTER4250]

I have a DD 300 With a 220 basement sump , i have a section that i have marine pure bio balls , live rock pieces and SIPORAX , this is all i need to keep a fairly stocked tank running . SPS dominant , i run a skimmer but only for the air exchange to keep PH up , other than that i don't collect any waste , i run a small amount of GFO to keep Po4 down or i will get cyano , if i run cheato in the fuge my No3 gets too low and coral starts to look pale . I am implementing currently the Moonshine process. ( just started that a few weeks ago )

 

[Gtinnel]

I have a place in my sump that is setup for a fuge but there is currently nothing in it. I already have a hard time keeping my nitrates and phosphates high enough so I don't want anything else stripping them from the water. If I ever have higher nitrate and phosphate in the future I will add chaeto to it.

 

[MERKEY]

ATS and nutrients are being controlled

 

[N3mo]

I have a refugium and will never do without one.

It's lots of benefits for me, having a place for pods to breed, reverse cycle lighting keeps ph balanced and nutrient export. I also feed very heavy.

The fuge area is 10% of the tanks total volume.