Refugium
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- Thread starter Dazdnconfuzd
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muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
Any reason you wouldn't just try to do a smaller refugium in one of the rear chambers? I'm running one in my IM Nuvo 40 using the inTank fuge basket and the IM Chaetomax fuge light and it's working like a charm. Great growth, houses beneficial microfauna and absolutely keeps nutrients down.
Dazdnconfuzd
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I have thought of that. I was thinking of drilling tank and adding sump for refugium and skimmer But then thought of hang on refugium to give an extra 4-5 gallons of volume also, plus may be able to add reactor if wanted to later on . And they look pretty simple where wouldn’t have to worry about plumbing or pump issues that might arise with sump. Getting back into hobby after 15 yrs away and you talk about information overload and ideas going on in my head.
muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
Sure thing! I'll try to get some pics tonight when I clean the fuge and trim the chaeto.
muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
Here are a few quick pics I took last night while doing some tank maintenance. When cleaning the refugium I typically shake the inTank fuge basket to try and release any detritus then pull out the chaeto to rotate it in the basket.
Here's a shot of the back of the tank where I have the Innovative Marine Chaetomax light mounted to the back with the velcro it came with. You can see I removed the black "tape" from the back of the second chamber to allow the light to penetrate.
Here's me pulling the inTank media basket out of the second chamber to check on the chaeto. This chaeto started as a handful I got from my LFS and quickly filled up the chamber. It's extremely dense, very green and houses lots of pods, snails and other microfauna. I typically remove about 1/4 of it every couple of weeks once it fills the basket completely.
Here's a better shot showing how green and thick the chaeto is inside the basket.
And here are a couple of shots at night from the back and top when the light is on. The light spillover isn't too bad and probably would've been less if I didn't remove so much of the black backing.
All in all I'm really happy with how this small refugium works. The chaeto grows at a steady pace and my nitrates and phosphates have been rock solid since it got going (~2-5ppm nitrate and 0.03-0.07ppm phosphate). I've definitely noticed my pod population has grown as well. At first I didn't think such a small fuge would work in an all-in-one tank but it absolutely does for me. Let me know if you have any questions about the setup and/or maintenance.
Here's a shot of the back of the tank where I have the Innovative Marine Chaetomax light mounted to the back with the velcro it came with. You can see I removed the black "tape" from the back of the second chamber to allow the light to penetrate.
Here's me pulling the inTank media basket out of the second chamber to check on the chaeto. This chaeto started as a handful I got from my LFS and quickly filled up the chamber. It's extremely dense, very green and houses lots of pods, snails and other microfauna. I typically remove about 1/4 of it every couple of weeks once it fills the basket completely.
Here's a better shot showing how green and thick the chaeto is inside the basket.
And here are a couple of shots at night from the back and top when the light is on. The light spillover isn't too bad and probably would've been less if I didn't remove so much of the black backing.
All in all I'm really happy with how this small refugium works. The chaeto grows at a steady pace and my nitrates and phosphates have been rock solid since it got going (~2-5ppm nitrate and 0.03-0.07ppm phosphate). I've definitely noticed my pod population has grown as well. At first I didn't think such a small fuge would work in an all-in-one tank but it absolutely does for me. Let me know if you have any questions about the setup and/or maintenance.
That is awesome and exactly what I am hoping for in my tank. I already have the fuge basket and the light. I just need to get some Chaeto this weekend. Thank you for the pictures!Here are a few quick pics I took last night while doing some tank maintenance. When cleaning the refugium I typically shake the inTank fuge basket to try and release any detritus then pull out the chaeto to rotate it in the basket.
Here's a shot of the back of the tank where I have the Innovative Marine Chaetomax light mounted to the back with the velcro it came with. You can see I removed the black "tape" from the back of the second chamber to allow the light to penetrate.
Here's me pulling the inTank media basket out of the second chamber to check on the chaeto. This chaeto started as a handful I got from my LFS and quickly filled up the chamber. It's extremely dense, very green and houses lots of pods, snails and other microfauna. I typically remove about 1/4 of it every couple of weeks once it fills the basket completely.
Here's a better shot showing how green and thick the chaeto is inside the basket.
And here are a couple of shots at night from the back and top when the light is on. The light spillover isn't too bad and probably would've been less if I didn't remove so much of the black backing.
All in all I'm really happy with how this small refugium works. The chaeto grows at a steady pace and my nitrates and phosphates have been rock solid since it got going (~2-5ppm nitrate and 0.03-0.07ppm phosphate). I've definitely noticed my pod population has grown as well. At first I didn't think such a small fuge would work in an all-in-one tank but it absolutely does for me. Let me know if you have any questions about the setup and/or maintenance.
muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
No problem! If you have problems with slow growth at first, you might try dosing just a little bit of iron to give the chaeto a kick-start. I used Ferrion by Brightwell Aquatics and did half the recommended dose every other day for a week or so until I saw the growth get going and then I stopped dosing it. Best of luck to you!
