Refuge Questions

[kilo]

I just started a Refugium on my 29 gallon. I have had the tank for about a year. I see many questions anwered in the same way. So here are my questions.

 

Why is the light on 24/7?

 

Don't people complain about the algae growing fast because of the light?

 

Would you have more copepods and other critters with less light?

 

Is there any problem with the refugium only getting light fron the main tank?

 

Is it better to have fine sand with lots of life form the main tank or crushed coral?

 

Does crushed coral really give that much more room for things like baby shrimp to hide in?

 

What shrimps are better Peppermint or grass shrimp?

 

How much lfow can you have with out really disturbing anything?

 

I am sure I stil have more questions but I can't think of them now

Thanks for all the help

[fade2black]

I'll take a stab at these for you.

 

1 and 2. The light is on to promote algae growth. One of the reasons for a refugium is to grow macro algae as a nutrient export. The longer the light is on, the more growth you have, the more export you have.

 

3. Not necessarily. I run mine 24/7 and have lots of critters living in it. The light seems to have no adverse effect.

 

4. IMO yes. Another reason for reverse photoperiod or 24/7 lighting is to stabilize your pH. Your pH drops when the lights go out, so running your refugium on the reverse cycle of your main tank helps stabilize the pH.

 

5. A wide variety of sand size is best.

 

6. I have never seen shrimp hide in the sand. Most likely any mysis shrimp or anything like that will hide in your macro algae. Remember, this is a refugium so there are no predators in it.

 

7. I don't know what grass shrimp are, but I wouldn't put any shrimp in your refugium other than mysis shrimp. You don't want to introduce any predators to your refugium...it defeats the purpose.

 

8. Depends on the size of your refugium. Shoot for about 5 -10 times your volume per hour. You want good flow, but not so much that you are disturbing the sand bed.

 

Hope that helps.