When do you start a refugium?

[Angryminer_07]

I guess a better question is when do you add your macros to a new in sump refugium when starting a new tank?

I’m Currently setting up my new tank and was just curious about the timing of getting macros in my sump. My guess is once it has cycled and I start putting some livestock in the DT.

 

[DudeBruh]

Following as wondering as well

 

[cjd]

usually I wait for the initial cycle to finish and that dreaded diatom bloom and nasty's that come. With my 25 nano I just started I decided to try a different approach. 2 weeks before the cycle was complete I added 2 big handfuls of cheato in my fuge. Coming up on 3 months and I get no algae on rocks , sand is as white as the first day and I clean the glass once a week during water change. I took this approach thinking from a "planted tank" perspective and thought why not give it a try. With planted tanks you put as many plants in the tank as you want on the very first day you add water. So thinking macros are like marine plants , lets see what happens. I have to say it seems to be working out very well as the cheato has grown to a compressed brick and the tank is algae free. I wanted to get ahead of the nasty's instead of fighting it after it took a foothold .

 

[PDR]

I personally would wait until after you have finished adding most of the fish you plan to add.

 

[lion king]

I actually found a cheat to help with the uglies, by adding my macro immediately after the completion of the cycle. The macros seemed to absorb the nutrients that otherwise would have contributed to the diatoms and initial algae issues that uually follow after the cycle and the initial stocking.

 

[lapin]

When your cycle is done. If you do it before the plants will suck up the ammonia.

 

[PatW]

You want some nitrates and phosphates. You want nitrates between 1 ppm and 10 ppm and phosphates between .01 and .03 but some people go higher. It depends on what you are keeping.

By refugium, I am thinking you are talking about have macro algae like chaeto to remove nitrates and phosphates. If you have photosynthetic coral, that is ones with zooanthellae, you will need a pretty strong light in your refugium. Otherwise, the chaeto will get outcompeted by algae in the display. Bulk Reef Supply has a series of excellent videos on the subject.

You do not need a refugium until the nutrients rise. And you do not want nitrates to get too low either because your corals will struggle for lack of nutrients.

Also certain problem algae like cyano bacteria tend to flourish in low nutrient levels. I find that my clean up crew will not eat cyano, but with higher nutrients I get algae that out competes cyano and my snails gobble it up.

 

[Specs]

I started mine after the tank finished cycling and so far (3 months later) everythings holding steady.

 

[PlainEnvelopes]

My tank has been running for about 6 months and just added one today. Interested to see how my nitrates change.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I shut mine down because of undetectable nutrients. I wouldn’t start one unless you have a problem with high nutrients.

 

[PlainEnvelopes]

I shut mine down because of undetectable nutrients. I wouldn’t start one unless you have a problem with high nutrients.

My nitrates are high. Once I have it settled it I was thinking of only running the lights 3-4 times a week and opposite of my typically light cycle.

 

[bobnicaragua]

My nitrates are high. Once I have it settled it I was thinking of only running the lights 3-4 times a week and opposite of my typically light cycle.

Yeah, fuges are very tunable, Adjusting the light output makes a huge difference. You can run a full photoperiod opposite the main lights if you have a weak light. Keeping the cheato ball small also keeps it from sucking up too much nutrients.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

In my experience, I add macro Algae after cycle. A small amount of Marco algae and it grows as nutrients increases. It will slow grow for a bit and then take off when levels rise... I'm a heavy feeder , so heavy in and heavy out.

 

[RedoubtReef]

Mine was the first thing I set up using mud, some sand from my seed tank, and feather caulerpa.

 

[PeterEde]

before you get high nitrates/phosphates.

 

[reeferobz]

I started mine after the tank finished cycling and so far (3 months later) everythings holding steady.

How did this project turn out?