Jestersix

What's your refugium like?

S

sfsuphysics

Supporting Member
BARcard
Ok since I got the Solar/Solon/Clown fairy wrasse and him not having any indication of being skittish at all (that's good!) I'm happy but his unquenchable hunger is going to kill me! Ok so it's not going to kill me, but I didn't realize 2-plus a day feedings were needed when I got it. So anyways, I would like to go on a trip occasionally, and short of me setting up an auto-feeder (at least until I can get him onto dry foods) I was thinking about setting up a refugium (proper one at least) to try to get a decent pod population to at the very least serve as a supplemental feeding method (i.e. if I forget he won't die). Right now I have the sump with no predators in it, but I figure with the skimmer + return pump most pods might not survive, however I did find some living in my overflow trough in the algae that's growing there!

So some questions of those with refugiums
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
3: Do you need to light it?
4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)
5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)
8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)

Thanks for all who reply.
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
about 20 gallons on a 200 gal. system

2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
all of the above..Pods, bristle worms, mini bristlestars, etc..

3: Do you need to light it?
yep. its on a reverse light cycle with the display tank

4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)
there frikkin everywhere....it gets annoying because i dont have the heart to flush or kill em so i go on pod rescues everytime i change the sock

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
all from a small ball of chaeto when we first started the tank..alota inbreeding going on there..

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
i dont feed them anything...whatever might be in the water column (phyto, rotifeast, etc.) and whatever food might go down the overflows..

7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)
i added a bottle of tiger pods in the fuge, but not sure if it did anything...but hey, worth a try...

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
I think it helps with NO3 and PO4 export...the macros growing so it had to be pulling something out..

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)
Inline..The water hits the fuge first, then the rest of the sump...it has a higher flow area up top for chaeto and a mid flow area for other macros

Let me know if you should decide to start one....i need to get rid of some of this algae..:)
 
Like this ;D

FTS2.jpg
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?

65 gallon system, 10 g fuge

2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)

sand, liverock, sponges.

3: Do you need to light it?

no

4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)

Large

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?

Reef Nutrition

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?

I toss Fight-o in there every day, one small squirt of Fight-o-Feast

7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)

Tank gets roti, fuge gets fight-o, Tigger pods do reproduce well. I tossed them in after dosing Interceptor over a year ago, their still there, along with other pods, thank god no Mysis yet...

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?

Makes me look like I know what I'm doing :D

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)

Pump fed, below the tank
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
210g main w/ 90g fuge

2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
sand, cheato,prolifera

3: Do you need to light it?
yes, 4-39w t-5's

4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)
quite a few, in addition to stomatella, and mini brittle stars

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
donated macro hichhikers

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
nope, just kept away from preditors so they can repopulate.

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
no doubt about it! mabe more so the macro, than the pods

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)

its outside in the garage and is plumbed under the house
 
when I ran an actual fudge

So some questions of those with refugiums
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
10g with aquaclear fuge mod
2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
mainly chaeto with a little rock
3: Do you need to light it?
yes. little 7watt PC
4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)
fairly large.
5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
came with the live rock and likely from coral frags, and the initial macro.
6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
they eat when I feed the corals.
7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)
see above :)
8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
they eat excess food :p right now, they are live food for my 6line.
9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)
HOB
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
30 G for a 72G tank and 80 G frag tank
2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
Macro Algae only right now but soo will have some rocks
3: Do you need to light it?
Yep one of those Costco jobbers
4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)
Not sure hasn't been up that long
5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
Cheato from another tank/tigger pods
6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
can't say
7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)
see above
8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
too soon to tell
9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)
Sits above my sump and circulates up from sump back down to it.
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?

Most likely 15-20 gal for a 120 gal tank

2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)

All of the above

3: Do you need to light it?

I have a 65 watt CF 3500K bulb, I read an article somewhere that this was a great bulb for a fuge

4: How large are your "pod" populations?

Not sure really

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?

I don't know if they are there

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?

I don't feed them but I am sure there would be plenty of food from the water collum

7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods?

I use rotifeast in the main display so some element of that makes it to the fuge

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?

Not sure but it looks COOL ;)

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)

I have a dual overflow, the smaller pipe which takes about 2-5 % of the flow goes directly to the fuge and the wall for the fuge to the return is slightly higher then the one from the sump.

Pictures006.jpg
 
Thanks for the info guys, seems we have the whole gambit of refugium sizes from small to Jebus 90 gallons!? Seems most also don't have a gravity fed fuge, maybe due to aesthetic reasons (or S.O. not allowing it) but I think that's something I'd like to try. As mentioned I see the big "Curled up" pods whenever I pull out a clump of algae from my overflow, so the potential is there I just need to make a more distinct refugium spot, one that truely is free of predators (other than each other). Think I need to stay away from my softy tank as I do have live mysis in there and as far as I can tell they are the dominate one. Now need to just get a tank, 10g might be to small but I don't want to use my long 20, it makes a nice frag tank.

Oh and I will take you up on your offer Patrick, I had chaeto growing like crazy, then it started to turn very hard and brittle (think precipitated material clinging to it) plus the red poofy algae grew in it.
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?

Part of the sump. Actually in the first chamber where the water enters. Total sump volume is 4.5 gallons.

2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)

Chaeto and some grape algae.

3: Do you need to light it?

Sidelighted by a 70W brink's fixture about a 16" away.

4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)

Decent amount I suspect. Before the melt, it was able to sustain a sixline wrasse (and before that a springer's dottyback) without me having to feed them.

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?

Hitchhiked on the ball of chaeto.

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?

Never added anything to the population. Don't feed on purpose either.

7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)

Whatever floats in the column. Lately, it's been 2 cubes of frozen every other day (1 cube of rotifers and 1 cube of baby brine shrimp).

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?

It did when there was fish in it; it'll become useful again when there's something else that's more active than a lone zebra hermit crab and 9 snails.

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)

Part of the sump; first chamber.
 
[quote author=tuberider link=topic=3765.msg43789#msg43789 date=1211507468]
...thank god no Mysis yet...

[/quote]

What do they look like and what is wrong with them?

Thanks
-Adrian
 
[quote author=stubbsz link=topic=3765.msg43827#msg43827 date=1211562933]
[quote author=tuberider link=topic=3765.msg43789#msg43789 date=1211507468]
...thank god no Mysis yet...

[/quote]
What do they look like and what is wrong with them?

Thanks
-Adrian
[/quote]Tranparent ~1/2" long, and they look kinda like shrimp you'd eat, only tiny, they also swim all over like crazy in a linear fashion.

Problem with them is they are voracious predators, and eat up all of your other pods. Your left with a half dozen little Clubber Lang's in your fuge.
 
1: How big is yours compared to your tank?
n/a
2: What do you have in it? (Sand/Rocks/Macroalgae)
: ) No fuge, but I do have pods that seem to be living in my overflows, along with a bunch of little feather worms.

3: Do you need to light it?
nope
4: How large are your "pod" populations? (Way back when I had one I could see hundreds of (Decapods?) all over the glass)

a bunch running around - I am sure what hits the tank the 6 line gets

5: How did you get said pods there in the first place?
Tigger pods and hitch hikers

6: Do you populations need to be "rejuvinated" or fed?
? but they get Phyto and since I don't have a skimmer they get stuff from the water as well.

7: If so what do you use? Rotifeast? Tiggerpods? (do tiggerpods actually reproduce from the bottle?)
?

8: Is it actually doing any good for your tank?
? I guess so - hard to measure it

9: Most importantly, how does your refugium connect to the tank? i.e. is it gravity fed (above the tank) or pump fed (below)
n/a
 
[quote author=sfsuphysics link=topic=3765.msg43810#msg43810 date=1211555904]

Oh and I will take you up on your offer Patrick, I had chaeto growing like crazy, then it started to turn very hard and brittle (think precipitated material clinging to it) plus the red poofy algae grew in it.


[/quote]

No prob...just LMK next time your in the area (union city/hayward)...meeting maybe? I can spare as much as you need..the chaeto grew enough to fill the whole fuge and i refuse to just throw it away, so i was waiting on anyone that needed some..
 
yeah I miss chaeto, I would routinely go from a ball the size of a baseball to having a cube o' chaeto that fit my entire refugium between each meeting.

I'll let you know about the meeting, still not sure if I'll go, I'm teaching summer school and need to make sure I'm ready to go, and I plan on procrastinating a ton between now and then :D
 
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