Advice Needed - Setting up Refugium before Display Tank?

[walnutninja]

Hi all,

Before I start asking questions, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who posts information garnered from years of personal experience and the educated folks who pass on information to new hobbyists like myself. Without the wealth of information I've absorbed from this forum I doubt I'd even be willing to make a foray into reef keeping.

With that said, I'm seeking advice with the following situation:

I recently moved into a new apartment and was considering building a reasonably large system, around 150-200 gallons, until I found out that my second story 1 bedroom is weight rated for around 80 lbs per square foot. Further, an investment in a 1 to 1 1/2 ton tank system at this point in my life could easily take six+ months before water hit the tank.

So I've scaled back my grand schemes to something around 75-100 gallons, including refugium. A family member donated a 30 gallon tank to serve as my refugium and I'll be adding an overflow wall to house the skimmer. My current plan is to set up the refugium first, with a deep sand bed, some live rock, a few small inverts once the tank cycles, and some chaetomorpha which I'll prune regularly. I plan on visiting several of the LFS and attempting to find local reefkeepers willing to sell or donate substrate to help along the cycling process. Once the refugium matures a bit and I amass enough equipment and funds to add the larger tank, I will use substrate samples from the refugium and some of the fully cured rock to jumpstart the display tank.

Finally, after that long winded diatribe, the questions: ;P

Is this refugium-first plan advisable?

Are there any hiccups I'm not seeing trying to start up this way?

What type of flow will I need in this setup (powerheads, etc)?

If I purchase a skimmer large enough for the full setup, will it be overkill for the smaller refugium?

Can anyone recommend an ideal LED setup for this display (10k, actinic, moonlight? -- I found LED 10k/actinic bars for around $60 each)

Lastly, are there any fellow enthusiasts in the southeast texas area that would be willing to sell/donate substrate in the next few months to help start up this project?

I would also appreciate recommendations on good LFS or online locations to shop for equipment/live rock/sand/livestock.


Thanks very much in advance.
Ryan

 

[Anonymous]

...

We all have grand plans and find ourselves scaling back.

Is this refugium-first plan advisable?

definately!!!

Are there any hiccups I'm not seeing trying to start up this way?

I would not put sand in the refugium. And use some inexpensive fish like mollys to get and keep the bioload up.

What type of flow will I need in this setup (powerheads, etc)?

for the refuge just a simple powerhead will suffice

If I purchase a skimmer large enough for the full setup, will it be overkill for the smaller refugium?

I would not use the skimmer

Can anyone recommend an ideal LED setup for this display (10k, actinic, moonlight? -- I found LED 10k/actinic bars for around $60 each)

for the refug I would just use spiral lights 6500k in round clip on reflectors.

...
Ryan

I would not use any sand in the refugium.
my .02

 

[walnutninja]

Is there a reason you wouldn't use sand?

Most of the material I've read recommends a deep sand bed in some part of the tank, whether it be the display, the refugium or even in a five gallon bucket plumbed into the system. Am I missing some detail of the refugium that would make it inhospitable to sand bed organisms?

 

[Anonymous]

Is there a reason you wouldn't use sand?

Most of the material I've read recommends a deep sand bed in some part of the tank, whether it be the display, the refugium or even in a five gallon bucket plumbed into the system. Am I missing some detail of the refugium that would make it inhospitable to sand bed organisms?

with chaetomorphia you don't need sand and you can just let it tumble around.

But you are correct there are things that will thrive in the sand plus some macros do use sand and rocks. So you can.

sand does help consume nitrates through anoxic/anaerobic bacteria and convert it to nitrogen gas. But that can create an imbalance between nitrates and phosphates which fuel cyano bacteria.

I much prefer to recycle nitrates and phosphates into fish food (macros).

But that's just the way I do my tanks some of which have sand in the refugium. And is worth at most .02