Refugium size

[mr_X]

i say no to the 20 gallon. you will outgrow it quickly IMO, & IME.
this does not mean if you can't get anything bigger than a 20 gallon, don't get anything. i never said that.
if you want to assume. then do that...but just mention that it's an assumption, so to be clear on things.

i started with a 40 gallon tank and split that up to create my fuge. after the partitions went in, my refugium was not as big as i would have liked, and my return area(which is also where my evaporation takes place)was also undersized. i stick with my ORIGINAL ADVICE which is: biggest sump/fuge you can fit under the stand.

btw..you quoted shavo and typed it as if i said it. pay attention please.
i never stated anything about live rock or deep sand beds, just that i think ORCA will outgrow the 20 gallon fast. this , you disagreed with. then agreed in the next post. which is it???

 

[shavo]

what a hornets nest this has become thanks orca for starting the RDO members into a nice quarrel!!! Glad you joined this site to just create havoc.
lol
IMO/IME is no longer in my vocabulary, it is now IMF (in my fact) lol only kidding!!!

ok, I still don't understand why if you have a sump can it not just become a fuge in 2 minutes. I can imagine a big plastic bin or whatever your sump is, add a (WAWA milk crate) with a clip on light on it and add some calurpa, instant fuge?? If you have a tank as a sump add two baffles and it becomes an instant fuge without losing much if any of water volume. i think it only helps.

IMF the plants do help take bad things out of the water and help filter the water, plus when it gets too thick i throw it in the display and the tangs eat it up immediately. I dunno i like how things are running with my fuge it is seriously crazy in there with all the hitch hikers and creatuures that are living in there it is really neat to watch.

Crissy, why do you have to have one built? it is an easy DIY with just buying a tank some baffles and a pump. that's it?

anybody want a wet/dry??? selling one less than a year old I bought it for 245 dollars and it has a built in skimmer. 100 even if anybody wants it. Orca? just want a wet/dry with a skimmer built in? we can convert it to a make shift fuge or you can use it as it was intended??? get back Yo

 

[ChrisRD]

There are lots of ways to run a reef, and a refugium is definitely optional.

Actually, the definition of what constitutes a refugium is even a matter of some debate. Some feel it is any area that provides the little critters some protection from predation where they can multiply. In that case, anything from an overflow box to a bare sump to a tightly stacked pile of live rock in the display could act as a form of refugium.

As for putting live rock, macros, etc. in a refugium for filtration purposes - it's really a matter of what your philosophy is and how you want to run your tank. Some (like myself) prefer actively removing wastes rather than trying to treat them in the system. Others prefer trying to handle the wastes in the system with the likes of DSBs, algae filtration etc. Many go with the shotgun approach and do everything.

Over time and experimenting with various setups I've found that, for me at least, it's easiest to run a very low nutrient system with the first method. If low nutrient levels are the goal, personally I prefer a plain sump. They can act as an easy-to-clean settling chamber which is a great way to actively export detritus. Also, not having light in the sump area cuts down on unwanted coralline growth on in-sump equipment (ie less maintenance).

OTOH, if you've got animals that require lots of pods for a food supply, having some macros/rock/substrate in the fuge might be beneficial just for the extra critter habitat it provides. Again, there is no "right" answer. A lot of it boils down to preferences and what your goals are with the system.

HTH

 

[trido]

quote="mr_X"i say no to the 20 gallon. you will outgrow it quickly IMO, & IME.this does not mean if you can't get anything bigger than a 20 gallon, don't get anything. i never said that. My point in the last post was that one line blanket statements are easily misinterpreted.

if you want to assume. then do that...but just mention that it's an assumption, so to be clear on things.
atleast i don't change my opinion to suit the reader.
quote trido: Yep, 20 Gallons is fine. Of course bigger is better. IMO that holds true for my display as well. Can you show me anywhere in any of my posts over the last year where I have changed this opinion?

i stick with what i believe, which is: biggest sump/fuge you can fit under the stand. As I said before. I agree with this too.


btw..you quoted shavo and typed it as if i said it. pay attention please.
i never stated anything about live rock or deep sand beds,My sincerest apologies I will try to be more careful when I am making a case that a small sump is better than nothing, and for a fuge it isnt necessary to have every one of the listed ingredients . For that matter, I will be more careful when quoting regarding any topic.



just that i think ORCA will outgrow the 20 gallon fast. this , you disagreed with. then agreed in the next post. what's up with that? This whole argument spawned from the first line you wrote. "I say no to a 20 gallon."
quote trido:I also agree that a person can (and likely will ) quickly outgrow a 20 sump/fuge. I think you can agree with me though, a 20G is better than nothing. Not once did you ever explain that you didnt mean no sump at all. As I stated, yes a person can out grow their sump but that doesn't mean that it isnt still more effective than nothing.

At this point I think (hope ) that we can agree that this was a misinterpretation of TYPED words and that we should stop this here. English Is extrememly hard to interpret in written form. It is very hard to interpret emotion and sometimes simple statements.

Shavo is very correct. This really isnt a way to welcome new members to Reefs.org.
In the future I will try to be more polite in asking you for an explanation of some of your posts that I (and possibly others) dont understand. I only hope that ORCA will return to this thread to see that this is a civilized place to seek help and that we can resolve issues (even differences of opinion sometimes) after enough quoting and questioning.

 

[shavo]

I have to say that now this site has become better than reef monkeys and reef central, I love this place and we are better than them!!!!!

Trido I do not except your apology you are now my mortal enemy and i want to sword fight you to the death over this fuge topic! lol, everybody chill he didn't even decide what he wanted to do yet, after orca decides then we can argue!!!!

we need things like this to make it interesting, i love watching this unfold!!!!

shavo out!
usually it is me doing it lol

 

[mr_X]

wow...i didn't expect that. i thought i felt some targeted attack in your post. a mistake i have made before. yeap. emotion is difficult to type.
forgive me, my learned friend.

 

[shavo]

orca did you decide yet I need to start forming my next argument, hurry up and post here already!

btw, chrisRD very informative post! I think your posts are on target and i watch what you write to people and i agree with your position on alot of things.
thanks man! I get alot of information from your responses.
very helpful and I don't need to post alot of times if I follow what you say on here.

also can you ad IMF in the abbreviations section on rdo?

 

[trido]

:lol: :lol: :lol: We better just get a mod to lock this thread before its too late. Things may get real bad from here on out.

If I may (and I will) a couple quotes.

i stick with my ORIGINAL ADVICE which is: biggest sump/fuge you can fit under the stand.

IMF the plants do help take bad things out of the water and help filter the water

a 20G is better than nothing.

Now ORCA can take that to the bank. And to think, It took us two pages to get only this much useful information. Man, we truely are a bunch of geniuses. We should start a union or something. :lol: :lol:

Disclaimer:
No offense intended to anyone in a union

 

[The_Orca]

I'm going back to freshwater... LOL yeah right. this site is great
Shavo I think I'll turn that wet/dry into 1/2 fuge 1/2 wetdry. I'll look at the stand today to see what will fit under and give you a definite answer.
Thanks Trido and Mr. X
I look forward to future post's.

 

[mr_X]

yeap..it's best to go back to freshwater.

 

[ChrisRD]

also can you ad IMF in the abbreviations section on rdo?

LOL - yeah we'll have to do that... :wink:

 

[shavo]

haha, too funny, thanks man

 

[trido]

I'll look at the stand today to see what will fit under and give you a definite answer.

Well?!? How big?

 

[The_Orca]

Ok Trido here's where you guy's kill me. LOL After all the heated debate I'm going with Shavo's wet/dry for now. When I do make a fuge it will be a 20 gal. I checked out Shavo's 30 and I think it would fit but it would take up to much under the tank room. I have to many kits and supplements etc, for that. They are pretty neat I have to admit. I'm going to re-place the boi-balls with rubble rock and do a few things to make wet/dry fuge. Then down the road go fuge. Thanks for all the info. It was rather entertaining I'll have pictures when I get this up and running. I'm moving my 55 to my new 95.

 

[The_Orca]

Here is a picture of a refugium that Shavo drew for me. He should go into the fuge design buisness.

Anyone interested in custom fuge's give him a yell.......

 

[mr_X]

hey..that looks alot like my fuge. i smell some copywrite infringement.

 

[cyro]

it also depends on your circulation..

:roll: i m going to say much more - many many things if i got an english!

idont understand Shavo's drawing but must not fall into the top.