sump > refugium

[phishhead]

Okay here's the pic of what i got this weekend

 

 

What do i do to make it into a fuge??? I know i need to remove the bio-balls. then what?? I would really be grateful to have some input here my LFS was unclear about my inquiry and i thought i would try posting on this board. Thanks in advance for ya'lls help here. -James-

[tinyreef]

probably not the best layout for a refugium.

 

you can dump the bioball or keep 'em. the issue with them is maintenance. they're not leave 'em and ignore 'em (like wimmen are , ::tiny-dodges-projectiles:: ). you have to make sure not too much mulm :x builds up and then sloughs off. (altho i wonder about letting tiny nass snails loose in bioball piles to combat that ??? hmm)

 

if you want to reserve the bioball area for refugium then you'll have to slow down or stifle the splash from the inlet pipe. refugiums should have a gentle flow.

 

are you looking to have an algae refugium (macro or micro)?

 

or are you looking more at a trad-reef refugium (LR/LS/algae)?

 

or are you looking for a cryptic refugium (tunicates, sponges, filter feeders)?

 

or a lagoonal or reef flat-type of refugium (e.g. sand and turtle grass)?

 

is the refugium for plankton generation, filtration, true refuge, or a combo?

[phishhead]

i would like an algae refugium. how would i slow down the intake??

[tinyreef]

i kinda mis-spoke. not slow the overall flow but lessen the water pressure so that it doesn't blast everything is what i meant. a better description would be to diffuse the flow. sorry.

 

you could diffuse the intake's pressure by tee'ing it to a larger diameter opening. i.e. intake pipe is 1.5", place a 1.5"-2" tee. where you used to get 300gph in 1.75"area you now have the same 300gph in over 3.5x the area ~ less water pressure. instead of a wind tunnel-like blasting you get a breeze-like flow.

 

are you going to harvest the algae regularly (i.e. nutrient export) or just now and then when it gets too hairy (closer to plankton refugium, protected habitat)?

 

hair algae or chaetomorpha are probably the better choices for the latter. imo grape caulerpa is the best for the first option.

 

a pile o' rocks is sufficient for grape. it allows footholds and directional growth, upwards.

 

chaeto might be better with a flat area as the algae itself provides the only cover for microfauna (kinda forces them).

 

hair grows anywhere you don't want it. so just visualize it and it'll most likely grow just to spite you. jk tank dividers are good media. pull it out and scrape some off when you think it's too much. (you can tell by the water flow, flow blockage) hth