Refugium for Nano

[jdizzle1000]

I am working on a 20 gallon SW tank, I've heard alot of people saying that NO4 (I think) is a problem if you don't have a refugium with plants/algae to get rid of it. Is this true, because I don't want to be doing water changes every day because of NO4.

I was also wondering if anyone knows where to buy an automatic top-off system and how much $$$ it would take.

Thanks.

 

[mogurnda]

I ran a 20 for a few years with and without a fuge, and didn't see a lot of change in nitrate (NO3) when I added the fuge. It grew a lot of macroalgae, and provided other benefits, but a small refugium just won't do that much nutrient export.

Nonetheless, I was happy to have it, because of the small critters that bred in it and the stabilized pH from the reversed photoperiod.

The autotopoff can be as expensive or cheap as you want. In my larger reef, I use a cheap kent float valve ($15) connected to a large tank of RO/DI water. Works great, but works best with a sump. You can also use something like a Kent aquadose ($25?) to drip continuously, although it's fiddly to get the drip just right. For my old 20, and the new 30 I just set up, I use an aquadose, and control the output with a solenoid valve.

With a bucket, a float switch and a powerhead, you can make a nice topoff system for less than $100.

 

[jdizzle1000]

That's just the information that I needed. Thanks Dave.