CUC in refugium?

[AquaVaj]

I have a 5L x 4W x 16H compartment I made specifically for a fuge in my AIO. I will have sand, a few of those small Marine Pure biocubes and chaeto. Can I put a couple of snails in there too or will they likely starve since the compartment isn't all that big?

[Cannedfish]

Why are you putting sand in your AIO rear chamber? That seems like a detritus trap? I'm not an expert, but I have a hard time seeing how the pros of that outweigh the cons? What type of tank is this?

[A Little Blue]

If you gonna use “sand”, place it in a tray or a basket of some sort. Miracle Mud would make more sense as it releases supplements found in the ocean. Look at my build (1st page) for an idea how. 

I keep 2 snails in back chambers (been there for a month now) and they help with algae build up.  I do check on them from time to time. Just don’t put them there right away. Wait for some sediment and algae build up to accumulate or they might starve. 

[Subsea]

Not familiar with your AIO  compartments.  Because I emphasize nutrient recycling as opposed to nutrient export, I prefer unlit refugium with rock rubble.  Pods will eat detritus and biofilm that grow without lights.  I would leave snails out to allow more food for pods,

[This guy is extra salty]

I have snails in my refugium area in my tanks but my tanks are 30-200gallons

i think one will be fine for you

 

im curious also why you would put sand in there too

[A Little Blue]

I should add that I have a screen to keep macro algae from getting to return chamber and that’s where I originally left one of the snails. The other one was occupied cleaning every other chamber. After a while they found the way to reunite. They are basically in all back compartments now. They look healthy and active. I wouldn’t go as far as recommending this to anyone but it seems to work for me ...... for now 🙏🏻

If you want to try it, go with a small snail that is healthy. Keep it in a display tank, make sure it’s healthy and then give it a try. They do keep chambers cleaner for sure. Is it worth it? Who knows. 😂

 

[AquaVaj]

2 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

I have snails in my refugium area in my tanks but my tanks are 30-200gallons

i think one will be fine for you

 

im curious also why you would put sand in there too

IDK, just about every fuge I've seen had sand. Is it only needed if you're trying to grow macros that need to be anchored down?

[Subsea]

I have a 30G EcoSystem mud macro refugium.  The mud is crawling with worms as they reproduce to food supply.  Over a period of 25 years mud depth increased 1/2”.   I never got on the miracle mud wagon.  I understand it is high in iron of which I dose iron.  So, my mud filter is detritus and worms.

 

 

[A Little Blue]

14 minutes ago, AquaVaj said:

IDK, just about every fuge I've seen had sand. Is it only needed if you're trying to grow macros that need to be anchored down?

Are you talking about back chamber of your AIO tank or something you “made”?........ Sort of hang on the back fuge?  If it is the HOB fuge than yeah, people use shallow sand-bed. In back chamber, it becomes a little tricky like @Subsea said. It will become a magnet to detritus and gunk. Unless you keep in in some sort of containers that can be removed down the road for cleaning or replacing old sand with a new batch. 

[Cannedfish]

It would be helpful to get a little better understanding of your system? How big is it? What type of AIO set up do you have? What type of livestock do you plan on having? What other filtration do you have? What are you using for circulation? Without a bit more (other than the vague size of the potential refugium compartment) I feel like we are trying to paint by numbers in the dark. 

 

 

[AquaVaj]

17 hours ago, Cannedfish said:

It would be helpful to get a little better understanding of your system? How big is it? What type of AIO set up do you have? What type of livestock do you plan on having? What other filtration do you have? What are you using for circulation? Without a bit more (other than the vague size of the potential refugium compartment) I feel like we are trying to paint by numbers in the dark. 

 

 

This is just a rear compartment on a custom AIO (36x20x16). Dual overflows on each side. Left side goes through media basket, under and over into the fuge section and then over into the return section. Right side goes through media basket, under and into the skimmer section and then over into the return. There is a 750gal/hr return pump. The tank is still cycling so no livestock yet. I have a freshwater LED pendant that lights the fuge.

[A Little Blue]

4 hours ago, AquaVaj said:

This is just a rear compartment on a custom AIO (36x20x16). Dual overflows on each side. Left side goes through media basket, under and over into the fuge section and then over into the return section. Right side goes through media basket, under and into the skimmer section and then over into the return. There is a 750gal/hr return pump. The tank is still cycling so no livestock yet. I have a freshwater LED pendant that lights the fuge.

I wouldn’t mess with sand in that macro algae compartment. Maybe MarinePure spheres or rock rubble for bacteria/pods population. Besides, it sounds like you’re going to have a lot of flow gowing thru the back. Which might stir up all that loose sand. 

I like your tank dimensions. 

Post pics when it’s ready.