Remote Refugium

[Mick1of10]

Hello,
I am not new to marine aquariums - have had marine stuff for 50 years - but I am new to reef aquariums. I just retired from life as a mechanical engineer (diesel stuff) and have too much disposable income (the kids will probably get very little) so I decided to start a reef tank. I would like to use the Triton Method so I don't have to lug buckets of water around. I'm in a wheelchair (Vietnam) so that part is out, and my bride of 50 years won't do it. I have a Red Sea Reefer 500P that doesn't have a large refugium (bout 7 gallons). Is a remote refugium a good option? Or will a large Chaeto reactor work along with a refugium? I have a Skimz 157 algae reactor (about 2 gallons).
Thanks in advance
Mick

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

A remote refugium may be better for you in terms of access, you would have more flexibility in setting it up in a way that would be easy for you to access from your wheelchair. You also wouldn't be defined to just the area beneath your stand anymore and could make it as big as you want.

Thank you for your service and good luck with your reef!

 

[Mick1of10]

Thank you. I'm pretty close to the floor, so I don't have a problem getting into the stand. My bride would like everything under this stand - it's in our office and the other tanks around the house tend to sprout accessories (I like to tinker). Even with the addition of a reactor, I would only have about 8 gallons of refugium. I guess my question is: is a rector more efficient than an open refugium (concentrated light and all that). I planned on using an Hydra Prime freshwater light in the refugium with the reactor in the skimmer sump, along side the skimmer.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Thank you. I'm pretty close to the floor, so I don't have a problem getting into the stand. My bride would like everything under this stand - it's in our office and the other tanks around the house tend to sprout accessories (I like to tinker). Even with the addition of a reactor, I would only have about 8 gallons of refugium. I guess my question is: is a rector more efficient than an open refugium (concentrated light and all that). I planned on using an Hydra Prime freshwater light in the refugium with the reactor in the skimmer sump, along side the skimmer.

Algae reactors are a relatively new thing in the hobby, so there's not a whole lot out there in terms of comparisons of them versus traditional refugiums. I expect we'll see a BRS youtube video on it at some point.

If it were my tank I would do a traditional refugium. From my standpoint algae reactors need more maintenance to keep them working appropriately. Traditional refugiums on the other hand are pretty much plug-and-play if you have all the necessary pieces, there's also less points of failure in a traditional refugium (from what I can tell) and the parts involved are much easier to access and perform maintenance on if necessary.

It might be more efficient in the long run to use an algae reactor, however.

 

[Mick1of10]

Good point! I now have enough information to convince my wife that another piece of gear is necessary. I ill go with your recommendation. Thank you very much!!