Nano Refugium?

[CapnWreckz]

Hey, wanted to ask what everyone's thoughts were on nano refugiums, and if it would be any use for nitrate reduction in my scenario.

I have the 20 gallon JBJ nano cube AIO that you can see here https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/20-gallon-nano-rimless-aio-aquarium-jbj.html and it's been doing pretty great as my first tank.

It has 2 clowns and a royal gramma, 5 dwarf blue leg hermits, 5 trochus snails, 3 nassarius snails, and around 10 small frags of softies and zoas which are all doing well and I'm getting good growth, especially on my zoas.

However, I have kind of high nitrates at around 25ppm but my phosphates on the other hand are great, they're somewhere between 0 and 0.03, kind of hard to tell on the Salifert tests. I think I see a faint blue tint but I could just be imagining things.

I've been doing weekly water changes at around 10 -15%, but haven't seen it drop at all over time. It's steady at 25ppm. I understand that 25ppm nitrates isn't the end of the world and stability matters more than anything, but I'd like to lower them over time just so I have some more breathing room and to help reduce algae in the future.

So to the point of the post, I'm considering starting a small refugium in the middle rear chamber of the tank. The chamber is 3.25"L x 5"W x 16"H, which isn't the biggest but it's better than nothing. I'm thinking about getting a cheap submersible light and running it for 12hrs at night to grow some chaeto in the middle chamber. Is it worth trying out or am I just wasting my time on such a small tank?

I'm also interested in a refugium as a safe haven for copepods, not planning on getting a mandarin or anything, I just know that they're a great member of the clean up crew.

Thanks 🙂

[seabass]

5 hours ago, CapnWreckz said:

I have kind of high nitrates at around 25ppm but my phosphates on the other hand are great, they're somewhere between 0 and 0.03

Yeah, nitrate is a bit high.  However, I wouldn't consider almost undetectable phosphate as great.  I'd consider 0.03 ppm of phosphate to be an absolute minimum, with 0.05 to 0.10 being better.

 

I'd like to see nitrate closer to 10 ppm, and (with nitrate that high) phosphate over 0.05 ppm.

 

5 hours ago, CapnWreckz said:

I've been doing weekly water changes at around 10 -15%, but haven't seen it drop at all over time. It's steady at 25ppm. I understand that 25ppm nitrates isn't the end of the world and stability matters more than anything, but I'd like to lower them over time just so I have some more breathing room and to help reduce algae in the future.

I suppose there might be something causing higher nitrate levels.  IDK, maybe additional bio-media (like a sponge) in your fiilter chambers, or even organic build up in the sand bed.

 

Water changes are an effective export mechanism.  However, 10% of 25 is only 2.5, so your test kit might not even be able to pick up this change.  a larger water change will have a more pronounced impact.

 

Now here's the rub; water changes will also export phosphate.  You might ask why do I want to maintain higher phosphate levels when you've heard that high phosphate causes algae problems?  Well, nutrients (phosphate and nitrate) are needed for all photosynthetic life, including corals.  Trying to starve out algae usually results in starving out corals.  So while you might be trying to lower nitrate via water changes, you might actually have to dose phosphate to keep your photosynthetic life happy.

 

Common hair algae is best controlled by manual removal and more herbivores.  Eventually, coralline algae will cover bare rock and other algae will become less pronounced.  But there are some more insidious species of algae which require more drastic measures,

 

So what about a refugium?  A working refugium can help control nutriient levels.  But again, your goal shouldn't be to starve out other algae by bottoming out vital nutrients.  One of your tank's rear chambers isn't a lot a space.  It might be a fun project to play around with, but I wouldn't expect huge results.  You might get better pod production by dosing phytoplankton.