Refugium Setup

[Particleman]

Hello....continuing my quest into the Saltwater World, I've decided to add a refugium to my system. It's going to be a 14 gallon custom acrylic number with a hang on overflow and rio2100 return pump. I'm trying to get info on how to setup it, how much sand to add, live rock. I want it for Nitrate Export so was going to put in a couple differnt types of Algae. Can anyone give me some advice on how to set this up and what I should put in it? Will I need snails/crabs like my main tank has?

My setup:
55 Gallon FOWLR
Aqua C Remora Skimmer
1-Peguin 550
1-Powerseep
45lbs Live Rock
3" Sand Bed.

Water Parameters:
0ppm Amonia
0ppm Nitrites
20ppm Nitrates - Hoping refugium will help with this...
450 Calcium
10dkh Alk

Fish:
1-Flame Angel
1-Royal Gramma
1-Sixline Wrasse
1-Percula Clown

Help...please!

 

[wayne]

ooh , complicated question. You need to make some choices after research?

Nitrate export

Deep sand bed or algae export (you say algae), or both

If I hada lot of sand now I wouldn't add much live rock as it causes anoxic spots.

Miracle mud or not, if no sand bed?

Caulerpa or something better?

How much lighting, and continual, or reverse daylight?

Snails are one thing, as I like to look in my refugium , but no crabs - too destructive.

 

[mogurnda]

There are lots of ways to do it, like Wayne said. My preference is a few inches of sand, innocluated with sand from the main tank, some live rock rubble (pods love it), and semi-floating macroalgae like gracilaria or chaetomorpha.

I wouldn't add crabs, but I would add cultures of amphipods, terebellid worms and stuff like that. I like putting little "strombus" snails in the fuge, because they reproduce very well when they are separated from predators.

What kind of light were you thinking? A PC striplight, or cheap PC floodlights have both worked nicely for me.

 

[Particleman]

I was thinking same thing...couple inches of sand, some rock ruble and the alage you mentioned. A PC strip light is what I was going to use. Also, if there is enough room is it ok to put the skimmer in with the refugium or should i just leave it on the tank. Finally, where can i get the critters you mentioned? terebellid worms and stombus snails. Do they have more common names? I've seen the deitrvore starter pack from Inland Aquatics but for a 15gal setup $100 worth of critters seems a bit much. Any other suggestions?

 

[mogurnda]

None of the critter packages I've seen are cheap. Most of the animals and plants I've mentioned can be purchased from IPSF. I know of no other name commonly used for the strombus snails, which is ironic because they are not even in the genus. Terebellids are also known as spaghetti worms, because of the tentacles on their heads. Amphipods are normally called, well, amphipods.

Mysis shrimp also do well in refugia.

I would keep the skimmer out of the fuge, it will puree the animals you are trying to breed.