At the risk of sounding like a moron...

[Anonymous]

How does a Refugium work? Not in the "benificial to your tank" way, but the "water goes in here, and out there" way.

Does a fuge need it's own filter? If it's inside the tank how does the stuff stay in and stuff stay out? I have a 20G, with a sparse to nihl copopod population. I can tell, too. I wonder if this is good for me?

I've used the search engine here but am not coming up with anything I feel I can use.

I appreciate any and all responses. Except mean ones. But I do like sexy ones, now and again.

TIA
Anne!

 

[Anonymous]

IIRC the best way for a fuge to work is to have water pumped into it and have it gravaty drain back into the tank.

 

[Len]

Hey Anne,

Refugiums are essentially nothing more then a body of water, usually with sand, rocks, and macroalgae. There isn't an universal method on how to plumb it. Basically, water just needs to get into the refugium and be pumped out without it overflowing. It's as simple as that Usually, flow rates through refugiums are pretty slow (about 3-4x the volume of the refugium). For a 20g, a small 100gph pump/powerhead is fine. The problem you'll encounter is having to drill holes in the tank for plumbing. If it's glass, it is more difficult. If it's acrylic, I think it's definitely a worthwhile project for your tank.

Refugiums are not filtered. It's suppose to be a zone free of predation and filtration so biological processes are unfettered and small organisms can thrive. Refugiums are best situated after all the filtration in your sump (skimmer, mechanical, carbon, etc.).

If you'd like to give a refugium a try, post a photo or sketch of your setup (particularly the plumbing, if any) and I'm sure we can help you set up the refugium in a simple and functional manner.

I know that wasn't sexy, but hopefully it was helpful

 

[pwj1286]

A gravity is awesome because your critters dont get chopped up going into your tank.

I think CPR makes a hang on that will accomlish what you want.

Even a in-line sump/refugium would work prertty good for chemical reduction purposes. I had one with c. racemosa and harvested hand fulls every two weeks. Great for nuetriant export and food for herbivors.

If you add a refugium, it takes a while for it to fully get rolling, but the benefits are great.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/N ... 004+113080

Also try on eBay. They got alot of stuff on there.
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