Refugium with canister filter, is it possible?

[Derek siskey]

I have a 75g with a fluval fx4, my favorite fish of all time is the ruby red dragonette. How can I do a Refugium with this setup and be able to establish a copepod population? Have looked everywhere and can’t find anything unless you have a sump.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I have a 75g with a fluval fx4, my favorite fish of all time is the ruby red dragonette. How can I do a Refugium with this setup and be able to establish a copepod population? Have looked everywhere and can’t find anything unless you have a sump.

You could do a HOB refugium with some macro in it. Seed pods into it and the tank.

 

[Pntbll687]

I have a 75g with a fluval fx4, my favorite fish of all time is the ruby red dragonette. How can I do a Refugium with this setup and be able to establish a copepod population? Have looked everywhere and can’t find anything unless you have a sump.

You could try a cheato reactor.

You might even be able to plumb it into the return line coming from the canister with some hose and a couple barbs and clamps. If you go that route, add a ball valve so you can stop the flow in order to service the reactor.

 

[Jay Z]

Cheap dual reactor from brs. Load it with some rubble zone and run a low flow through it.

Pull water from a dirty corner in the tank, that will help feed them little buggers.

Fx4 have filter material in it?

 

[Peace River]

Others have already given solid recommendations on filtration for refugiums and I want to add why I think that canister filters are not commonly used for and are not preferred for a refugium. The design of a canister is directed toward pumping water through media which accomplishes several things including straining suspended solids out of the water column and trapping it in a space with limited oxygen. The good news is that the canister filter does a decent job clarifying/polishing the water (based on the media choices) and can be a reasonable place for chemical filtration. The bad news is (especially for a refugium) is that the suspended solids that are being filtered by a canister filter include the copepods and other microorganisms and is counter productive to the refugium as a tool to raise food for the dragonette. If the purpose of the refugium is solely to grow macro algae then a canister filter may be acceptable.

 

[Derek siskey]

Cheap dual reactor from brs. Load it with some rubble zone and run a low flow through it.

Pull water from a dirty corner in the tank, that will help feed them little buggers.

Fx4 have filter material in it?

Yes it has big mesh filter and also 3 different sections of fine foam filter

 

[Otaku Tuvok]

Others have already given solid recommendations on filtration for refugiums and I want to add why I think that canister filters are not commonly used for and are not preferred for a refugium. The design of a canister is directed toward pumping water through media which accomplishes several things including straining suspended solids out of the water column and trapping it in a space with limited oxygen. The good news is that the canister filter does a decent job clarifying/polishing the water (based on the media choices) and can be a reasonable place for chemical filtration. The bad news is (especially for a refugium) is that the suspended solids that are being filtered by a canister filter include the copepods and other microorganisms and is counter productive to the refugium as a tool to raise food for the dragonette. If the purpose of the refugium is solely to grow macro algae then a canister filter may be acceptable.

Could you do a HOB refugium and a separate canister filter without disrupting copepods and microorganisms?

 

[Peace River]

Could you do a HOB refugium and a separate canister filter without disrupting copepods and microorganisms?

The HOB refugium would be a good place for copepods to live, reproduce, and have some find their way back into the tank. Would you be using filter media in the canister filter? If so, it would seem that your proposed configuration would be filtering out the copepods without any method of reintroducing them into the tank.