What exactally is a refugium and how does it work?

[pyrocreep]

I've been on these boards about as long as I have been back into the hobby now, about 3 months, and I keep seeing people talk about refugiums. What I can't seem to find is any other information regarding them on this site. So I ask you all...

What exactally are they?

What do they do?

When do you set one up?

Why would you need one?

Ect...

I know that it is generally a smaller tank hooked up with a bigger tank, but is it just a large filter for that tank? Can the refugium be stocked? If so does it follow the same rules as a regular tank for stocking?

Really does anyone have a good link that I'm missing here?

Thanks

[6.5x55]

I've never kept a refugium and I know they are popular with marine keepers. I *think* a refugium is basically a biotope where ley anything that wants to grow, grow. The idea is that it locks up by products of normal filtration such as nitrates and phosphates. I think that plants and weeds are often a large part of refugiums bacause of their ability to lockup phosphates and nitrates which can then be pruned and removed from the system :).

Might be wrong, tho :D.

[Cory Keeper]

Its more extensive than that, its a refuge to keep useful critters such as pods from being eaten inside the display tank where larger fish are prone to eating them. To a FW system I can see this useful in cases like daphnia or something like that, but for most systems, a few nitrates never hurt anyone.

[wataugachicken]

IME, a freshwater refugium works like a wet/dry or sump filter, with the addition of plants. water is pumped from the tank, passes through the refugium where the plants take up ammonia/nitrate and add O2, then is pumped back into the main tank. usually you'd use something pretty fast-growing, like moss, hornwort, duckweed, etc. that will take up a lot of wastes without needing too much maintenance (expensive lights or fertilizers, etc.). you wouldn't stock a refugium separately from the main tank, but you can use it temporarily to isolate weak or small fish that need to be taken out for a while, or maybe a new fish that has trouble competing for food.

[Blown 346]

I've been on these boards about as long as I have been back into the hobby now, about 3 months, and I keep seeing people talk about refugiums. What I can't seem to find is any other information regarding them on this site. So I ask you all...

What exactally are they?

What do they do?

When do you set one up?

Why would you need one?

Ect...

I know that it is generally a smaller tank hooked up with a bigger tank, but is it just a large filter for that tank? Can the refugium be stocked? If so does it follow the same rules as a regular tank for stocking?

Really does anyone have a good link that I'm missing here?

Thanks


This is My fuge. This is on my reef tank.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b115/plyboy1917/DSCN0908.jpg

A refugium is either another seperate tank, or a sump that has a fuge built into it. A fuge is a place for algae's to grow to help reduce nitrates and phosphates. It is also used to house live foods for breeding.

They are a great addition. In my case since I have the fuge built into my sump(filter) It makes water changes a breeze. Everything settles in the sump and can easily be cleaned out without disturbing the main tank.

You can set one anytime you like.

[johndoughy]

Ever seen those shrimp feeding kits they sell at your LFS that hatch brine shrimp in a little box that hangs off/inside your aquarium, and when the brine shrimp get big and strong, they leave the roost and meet their doom at the hands of your fish?

That is, in essence, a refugium. It's to grow tiny, easily annihilated lifeforms in a safe environment, so they can spill over into your display, and feed voracious and picky eaters. More common with Marine tanks as there are more fish with a bigger/more exclusive appetite in reef systems, such as the Moorish Idol.

It is also used in a somewhat inverted sense, that instead of adding to the bioload, it subtracts! By this I mean that people use them to house unsightly/weed-like plants or large quantities of liverock, that specialize in consuming a large amount of waste/pollutants. It is also useful to have as a "time out" spot for fish that are breeding, temporarily aggressive, or competitive eaters, without the risk of water shock.

[jm1212]

reef-style fuge's often have some type of substrate in them also, for biological media

[jm1212]

reef-style fuge's often have some type of substrate in them also, for biological media