how do you know how big to make your refugium?

[Markymarklar]

i was just wondering how big a refugium needs to be to make an impact. i have a 75 gal and was wondering if a 10 gal filled with macros and "wonder mud type" substrate would work. the cpr refugium is only 4 gallons so i figure that 10 gallons would be big enough. im i wrong?

 

[jhaag]

Typically you want to make the refugium as big as space will permit. I use a 30gal long under my 90 and it holds about 17gals. Of course, the flip side is anything you can get is better then nothing.

 

[esmithiii]

There is no magic formula. I agree with jhaag: As big as you can but anything is better than nothing.

Ernie

 

[Garry thomas]

Make your refugiam as big as u can get away with .Why miracle mud?
My sump measures 7ftx 2ft x1.6ft high of which 4ft of this is a refugiam The refug is lit 20 hours aday. The best calerpa i'v found is prolifera, racemosa (grape variety) and taxafolia which all grow wildly! The only additive i use for the calerpa is iron and manganeese which give ex results. Normal coral sand is used at around 3 inchs depth
The lighting consists of 1 x 10000k coral life tube, 1 x triton , 1 x 4300k all tubes 40 watt but the last 2 are on there to give slightly the wrong spectrum of which i think encourages growth. apart from the live rock 300+KGS the only filtration is a turboflotor 5000 twin . My main tank which is finished in 15mm glass measures up at 11FT x 2.6FT x 2.6FT giving me with displacement around 530 galls UK GT

 

[MarkO1]

FWIW, I have a 90 gal and I added a 10 gal hex refuge to it to lower my nitrates. They have gone from approx. 35 to approx 5 ppm in 3 weeks. I used 30#'s of fine oolithic sand and a handful of (I forget the name... a long stringy form) algae and use a 14 watt fluorecent light. I'm very happy with the results so far.
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[CAT]

As big as you can manage (Is there an echo here? )

I enjoy my fuge as much as the display. It's a glass aquarium under the main tank. Can't believe all the neat little critters that will multiply when there are no predators in the tank.

 

[bobphillips]

I have a 70 gal refugium on my 55 gal display.

 

[wombat1]

I can beat that! 120 gallons of sump, refugium, surge tank on a 40 gallon display. This may seem a bit ridiculous, but I get all the advantages of a 150 gallon tank with lower costs on lighting, tank, stand, etc. I agree that anything will work to some extent.

 

[bobphillips]

70 gal is just my refugium double that for the whole sump. I just couldn't afford the friggin dsb, or I would have made the whole thing a nice big 'fuge.

Hard to get southdown up north.

 

[ReefLion]

Yup, make it as big as space will allow. If you really want size, think basement sump. Easiest system in the world after some initial plumbing. Mine just kept getting bigger during planning and I ended up with about a 200 gal sump/refugium for a 40 gal. display (two 70 gal. stock tanks and a 75 gal. tank).

Tim

 

[bobphillips]

yup, thats how it went here. When you dont run out of space under the cabinet, and you aren't too worried about seeing into the sump from the side, there is no reason not to go big. (if you can spare the space elsewhere in your dwelling)

if you can go with something in a basement, this also helps to stabilze the temperature a bit, as temps undergraound fluctuate far less than above.

 

[cvye]

I can beat that! 120 gallons of sump, refugium, surge tank on a 40 gallon display. This may seem a bit ridiculous, but I get all the advantages of a 150 gallon tank with lower costs on lighting, tank, stand, etc. I agree that anything will work to some extent.

If you want the extreme case, I think there are more than a few tanks at the Waikiki aquarium that have the Pacific Ocean as their refugium. :twisted:

 

[Leopardshark]

I´ve seen 150 gal tanks with 300 gal refugium.
As with almost every other thing in this hobby, the bigger the better.

 

[wombat1]

If you want the extreme case, I think there are more than a few tanks at the Waikiki aquarium that have the Pacific Ocean as their refugium.

Someday I'll do the same thing... I just need 1000 miles of vinyl tubing to reach the gulf of California and someone nice enough to plug in a pump down there for me.