REFUGUIM

jose hernandez · Sep 21, 2020

so i set up a refuguim about week and half ago using the tunze 8831 light did not see a difference phosphates and nitrates are still high so i switched to cree 120watt br40 flood bulb how long does it take for my phosphates and nitrates someone mentioned adding iron its new to me so not sure what to do

New&no clue · Sep 21, 2020

When I started mine it took a good 3-4 weeks before I started to notice a change. It will all depend on how much marco algae you put in to start with, and what your levels were at before you started. For example my tank had really high phosphates and nitrates so it took some time for those to come down. I also started with a smaller ball of Chaeto so it took some time for it grow large enough to make a dent in my nutrients.

Ludders · Sep 21, 2020

Chaeto consumes iron during its growth, if iron levels are depleted, the growth will slow down and the removal a subsequent nutrients will be less efficient. That is what your previous adviser will be referring to.
That said I wouldn't expect this to be an issue from the start. Has your chaeto not been growing?

snowhite · Sep 21, 2020

How long each day are you running the refugium? When I put one into a newer system with high nitrates/phosphates I'll often let it run 24hrs a day for a week or more until growth gets numbers down where i'd like them to be, then I'll dial back the On time to 8 hours a day or so and see if numbers go up or down.
Refugiums are a slower delay process than Skimmers are.