Why isn't everyone using a refugium?

[KirkPatrick]

Seems to work better for some than others.

I have three tanks, no mechanical filtration (filter socks, rollers, skimmers etc.) in any of them just refugium. Works for me.

I am doing the same with great success.

 

[The Farmer]

I have tried algea reactor, algea scrubber, multiple different skimmers with no affect. Added a remote refugium and and nutrients drop after a week. Let not talk about the pod population that grow in there, Won’t go with out

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I tried 3 times to put a refugium in my tank and forcing to go in a certain spot but it just won't work. Melts every time. Not enough flow over the chaeto to make it work. I'd love to have it just for pods.

¯\_(° ͜ʖ °)_/¯

This. Have tried cheato on a few tanks over the years, (I was mostly fowlr until the last 5 years) it always commits suicide. I go with the large as hell skimmer mindset.

 

[sghera64]

There was a guy who runs small air stone under his chaeto in the fuge. Basically aerating the chaeto with good results. Kind of makes it an in sump reactor then I'm going to try it.

I do this. I pump air from outside through a pipe in to the bottom of the fuge and let it move the water beneath the cheato up through it. I hold the chaeto for a 200 gallon system on a 20 gallon tank. I use dosing pumps to add iron and nitrates every day.

I was using Vibrant for about 10 weeks to kill bubble algae. I removed all my chaeto during that time. After the uproar over Vibrant, and my Goniopora starting to suffer, I stopped the Vibrant and added some chaeto back to the fuge. Then, my nitrates were about 10-20 ppm and PO4 was 80-100ppb. 3-4 weeks after adding the chaeto, my nitrates dropped to zero (Red Sea test kit) and phosphate jumped to 180ppb (Hanna ULR). I’m now dosing Nitrate and iron these days.

I do dose some DIY Mn, Mo, Sr, Fe, KCl, and I/KI manually.

 

[Arthur_Dent]

I don't run a fuge because I believe in the power of dirty dirty sumps, with obscene numbers of sponges, and carbon dosing.

 

[Indeva]

I have AIO with a fuge section. Chaeto grew like mad then melted to nothing on three separate occasions. Since I’m good at growing algae I turned it into an algae scrubber. I scrape off a good amount of GHA from it once a week. While not optimal, it works for me.

 

[Miami Reef]

I don’t like refugiums because the light spill encourages algae growth in the sump equipment. Turf scrubbers seem more appealing, but I do not use one currently.

 

[CNDReef]

No fuge and I have to fight to keep any nutrients in the water.

 

[Boomski]

ATS is basically the same concept but for me much less room, and much cleaner look. Wouldnt go without one and there are a TON of DYI options that make getting a ATS cheap and easy.

 

[Lavey29]

ATS is basically the same concept but for me much less room, and much cleaner look. Wouldnt go without one and there are a TON of DYI options that make getting a ATS cheap and easy.

Same concept? Except for all the microfauna and extreme biodiversity and PH balancing and natural affects that a living mini eco system has on your tank. But I do agree with your cheap and tidy description.

 

[Roscovitch]

Kept “marines” when a reefer was something you past around the room whilst listening to Grateful Dead and never had a sump nor refugium or skimmer. Some will say “yeh! But you never grew out SPS” and they’d be right. None was imported or at least very little of it. Today I have two tanks. A nano and a 100 gallon AIO and do grow SPS. Both tanks are under LEDs only and have skimmers. Both get Kalk and TM Carbocalcium dosed. No sump no fuge. No carbon dosing. No reactors of any kind. In the cabinet there’s a container for the ATO and an oversized UV just in case I need it and a four head RedSea dosing pump. I use a combo of Siporax, De-Nitrate and Seachem Matrix. My 100 gallon is NO3 2.5 and my NO4 under 0.5. The Nano is a little higher. Why if I can hold these numbers and that chemistry would I need to add anything else?

 

[Reefinmike]

Kept “marines” when a reefer was something you past around the room whilst listening to Grateful Dead and never had a sump nor refugium or skimmer. Some will say “yeh! But you never grew out SPS” and they’d be right. None was imported or at least very little of it. Today I have two tanks. A nano and a 100 gallon AIO and do grow SPS. Both tanks are under LEDs only and have skimmers. Both get Kalk and TM Carbocalcium dosed. No sump no fuge. No carbon dosing. No reactors of any kind. In the cabinet there’s a container for the ATO and an oversized UV just in case I need it and a four head RedSea dosing pump. I use a combo of Siporax, De-Nitrate and Seachem Matrix. My 100 gallon is NO3 2.5 and my NO4 under 0.5. The Nano is a little higher. Why if I can hold these numbers and that chemistry would I need to add anything else?

Spot on!
Good liverock, good flow, decent light, lots of food, sps growth and appropriate dosing are all you need. I slowly removed my skimmer, UV, mechanical, carbon, etc etc and have been completely filter free for 18 months. The coral is the filter. I recently culled 7 pounds of coral as Allelopathy seemed to become a problem

my phosphate sits between 0.05-0.08 and nitrate 0.8-1.5ppm.

 

[Kieran McBride]

And also plenty of people holding up these signs:

So right, and they are the ones that tick so many off, there is no wrong way, it's whatever suits you as a hobbyists. They all work, people have to get over themselves, i's a personal choice.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Refugia takes place in the recesses of our rock. Growing algae in a sump is just algae scrubbing, so pretty much everyone has a refugium in their tanks.

Agree with this if you really break down the meaning of refugium, every one is going to have it in they’re tanks. In a way you could say that the inner part of the aquarium plumbing would be a refugium

 

[sixty_reefer]

Tough to do that if you don't have a sump, and not everyone has one...

Hob refugium can be added to almost every tank

 

[A Young Reefer]

I would like to have one but I am not really in need of one. Maybe when I get my nutrients a bit higher I might get one.

 

[Harold999]

If you can get the same effect - lowering nitrates - with something simple as carbon dosing you could also ask the question, why a refugium?

 

[Silent]

I tried 3 times to put a refugium in my tank and forcing to go in a certain spot but it just won't work. Melts every time. Not enough flow over the chaeto to make it work. I'd love to have it just for pods.

¯\_(° ͜ʖ °)_/¯

I have a 30 gallon refugium with very low flow and it grows chaeto and calurpa like crazy. Low flow shouldn't be your issue.

 

[FMF0331]

Because every tank / build / setup / opinion / design / option / experience / is different.

 

[Hilltopreef90]

I have a basket in my sump with small rocks on the bottom and chaeto growing well on top, I recently removed 1/4 of the chaeto because it was growing so well. My issue is that my nitrates are still really high, I think my checker is broken but if not my nitrates are over 75.0 regardless according to another test they’re still high (can’t tell how high exactly)
My refugium has been in for about a year, my phosphates are low so it’s helping with that but my nitrates are too high.
If I get rid of the refugium and put in a media reactor, can I still keep pods in the sump with the skimmer and reactor running if I leave the rubble rock in the sump ?