I am going to start a refugium so I could get a Mandarin. Is it possible to just use a 5 gallon tank with a heater and a small filter that is not attached to my display tank? Do I need a filter? I was just going to get some Caleurpa from my LFS and throw that in the 5 gallon. There is already visible copepods in the caluerpa. What should the temp. be and do I need to feed them? Thanks
Refugium???
- Thread starter rightnow
- Start date
I'm not sure about feeding, but the 5 gallon will work. You don't need a filter--maybe a prefilter like a sump overflow box. Just throw some live sand in there and the lights need to be adequate as well. It's really just a sump with a live lighted chamber. Check out his page for DIY plans:
http://www.aquariaforums.com/entry_category.asp?CatID=41
http://www.aquariaforums.com/entry_category.asp?CatID=41
How big is your main rightnow? If it's less than a 45 or 50 and you have less than 90 or 100 lbs of l.r. you might want to go for a 10 with a bunch of l.r. rubble and cheto . You still might not have enough they need to eat pretty much all the time .
hth and if you have anymore ?'s ask.
Chris
hth and if you have anymore ?'s ask.
Chris
?
by design a refugium must be attached to your display..
I don't understand how you think you will gain any benifit without it being attached.. am I missing something?
The benefits of one is it grows food which you can't see or catch(you can see some) and that food moves through you waterlines back into the display randomly.. it also houses macro algea which is used for filtration of your main tank and acts as shelter for the pods your growing to use as food...
by design a refugium must be attached to your display..
I don't understand how you think you will gain any benifit without it being attached.. am I missing something?
The benefits of one is it grows food which you can't see or catch(you can see some) and that food moves through you waterlines back into the display randomly.. it also houses macro algea which is used for filtration of your main tank and acts as shelter for the pods your growing to use as food...
Like I said I am only using this a food source and not to keep Nitogen levels down. I have done allot of reading and it is effective to culture copepods in a seperate tank not connected to the display. You can transfer pods by using a coffee filter or just take a cup of water out of the tank and add them that way.
Yeah, but why not connect it. Pumps are cheap and you can get the plumbing at Home Depot or somwhere. You can make an overflow bow, or they sell for 35 bucks---your main expense is the substrate and macroalgae, liverock rubble, etc---why not just plumb it to the main tank--this way you have food AND added filtration. Just my 2 cents.
I'm hardly the one to ask for a step by step. This link should have some good info:
http://www.aquariaforums.com/entry_category.asp?CatID=41
You just need to put baffles in there which can be cheaply done with acrylic and aquarium sealant---and get an overflow box and hose---and a return pump. It would be alot easier to do it in the beginning than have to break down the refugium to do it later.
I learned the hard way to look 10 steps down the road and take the time (and have patience to save) to set things up the way I really want them---rather than take a short cut for the time being. Usually it saves headaches down the road and the result is much more satisfying.
http://www.aquariaforums.com/entry_category.asp?CatID=41
You just need to put baffles in there which can be cheaply done with acrylic and aquarium sealant---and get an overflow box and hose---and a return pump. It would be alot easier to do it in the beginning than have to break down the refugium to do it later.
I learned the hard way to look 10 steps down the road and take the time (and have patience to save) to set things up the way I really want them---rather than take a short cut for the time being. Usually it saves headaches down the road and the result is much more satisfying.