Setting up my refugium

[Reaperxvii]

Hey guys! So my tanks been up and running about a week. Salinity is at 1.025 and the fish (my pair of clowns) will be here tomorrow and I'm now wanting to begin setting up my refugium.

 

So basically what I'm asking is what all do I need to add to the fuge section itself? The sump is an amethyst 26 from trigger systems.

 

Thanks everyone!

[Subsea]

I went to your tank journal to see a picture of your sump.  It is very similar to my 25 year old  30G mud & macro refugium.  On top is a 75G Jaubert Plenum, also set up for 25 years with one move.

 

I have been skimmerless for 30 of the 45 years that I have been in this hobby.  From my point of view, skimmers remove bacteria which is food for all filter feeders, including coral.  

 

If if you are interested in recycling nutrients as live food to feed your tank, then you should include some live sand in both display and in middle section of sump.   When I say live sand, I am not talking about damp sand with bacteria.  

 

https://www.live-plants.com/livesand.htm

This is a very good source and have, IMO, a much better selection of macro & snails then reef cleaners.

 

I also suggest miracle mud in refugium because of the very fine grain, which will support a diversity of worms.  Miracle mud is high in several trace minerals including iron which is a major limiting nutrient in reef tanks.  Add miracle mud first, then add live sand on top.  Because I am a minimalistic reef keeper that builds ecosystems to process inorganic nutrients & detritus to develope complex food webs that feed both fish and filter feeders, I do not use equipment to do what nature does most efficiently with 5 billion years to have worked it out.

 

To develope this type of system requires understanding the rules of nature to work with you, If you like what you see we can talk more.

 

 

[NeonZoie]

I have pretty limited knowledge on this subject but what i plan to do is to just get some marine pure bio blocks, chaeto algae, a light to help grow the algae and add some copepods to live in the refugium.

[lpsouth1978]

1 hour ago, NeonZoie said:

I have pretty limited knowledge on this subject but what i plan to do is to just get some marine pure bio blocks, chaeto algae, a light to help grow the algae and add some copepods to live in the refugium.

This is basically what I am doing as well. I already have a large ball of Chaeto growing in there, but have still not purchased the marine pure block. I think I am going to get the 4" block, but I don't plan on adding any copepods. They will populate on their own and can do so very quickly.