So we finally are enjoying the CL 180 gal tank we picked up, We enlarged the refugium some, Both overflows go through wall, dump into the bag, roll across 10-15 lbs of figi rocks (hopefully critters are still alive in them) sump is 15-20 gals, 2 drops (to handle gpm without rising above pipes mutch) this drops onto filter, across some bio balls, then some more live rock, then across the Jersey mud with seeweed, then to the pump back to the tank (lower refugium is 20-25 ish gal)
Questions for the Geeks,
1, Water flow? since We burnt the 5 mag drive up when I forgot to open the valve at the chiller, I put the larger pump in. Estimate, 600-700 gph.
2 , what would be the perferd weed to grow in the upper tank, Lower has a fern style leaf (will give tech name when I find out, lol )
3 Any sugestions on what to change, what critters to add to refuge ect, ect. Thanks
On your pump , are you looking for a return pump from the sump to the tank?? If so the one you list is fine however little under rated. If you have a drilled 180 should have a drain and a return in each side and each drain is rated at about 600-700 GPH if I remember correctly. ( I have the same tank).
As far as what plant life for the display tank that depends on what fish you have. Most fish will peck at macro and if theres any tangs they will most likely eat it. The macro your referring too in the sump is a feather caulerpa which you need to watch. If it goes sexual it will put all the crap that it took out of the water back into the water all at once. Chaeto is a better choice.
For the critters if you have any in your tank they will end up in the sump, but the little copepods, bristeworms , micro brittle stars anything like that will work.
As far as what plant life for the display tank that depends on what fish you have. Most fish will peck at macro and if theres any tangs they will most likely eat it. The macro your referring too in the sump is a feather caulerpa which you need to watch. If it goes sexual it will put all the crap that it took out of the water back into the water all at once. Chaeto is a better choice.[/quote]
I see my original post is a little unclear, When I mentioned upper tank, I meant my 1st of 2 refugiums. One on top of the other. total water around 50 gals.
No such thing as over kill. Won’t hurt a thing and honestly some of the most beautiful and stable tanks I’ve seen have very large refugiums.
Odds are you have Caulerpa taxifolia already and I would recommend using Chaeto in the other tank especially if you can make it high flow and bare bottom. If the Chaeto starts to do very well you might consider illiminating the Caulerpa all together.
Do not let the Caulerpa get over grown and fill in the tank too much. Read about Caulerpa crashes or going sexual if you haven’t already.
I think a better way of putting it would be “uneccessary” but if you have the room go for it. I agree with Jon that there is never really a such thing as too much volume and the more biological divirsity via refugiums the better. Ove the years ive migrated from elaborate systems to more passive and simple ones.
Couple other notes. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try to get a diverse refugium especially if you are going to run to. Ideally you could have a bare bottom high flow tank with just 1-3 varieties of Chaeto in it and in the second tank a couple of rocks and a bunch of different types of algaes and other Lagunal type things.
Some things to consider,
Large leaf money plant, Halimeda
Mangrove tree
Red algae such as dragons breath - try for fun though sometimes require odd conditions to do well
I would stay away from Caulerpa racemosa aka Bubble Caulerpa. I personally would remove the Caulerpa all together or keep it only in a small quantity if other stuff does well.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:6, topic:3120”]
Ove the years ive migrated from elaborate systems to more passive and simple ones.[/quote]
Just checking by this do you mean you’ve moved away from techincal equipment and micromanaging things to just large systems and fuges which are less elaborate or you’ve moved away from big fuges?
My favorite caulerpa has been Prolifera. nice long, waxy leaves on vine like strands. it likes to hold onto coarse gravel or small rubble rock with loose grabbing hold fasts. i have migrated more to the prolifera for my fuges than chaeto. it just seems easier to manage once it takes hold. and does a great job of eating nutrients. the Green Grape(racemosa) and the serated leaf taxifolia are much harder to contain, or get rid of. the taxifolia puts down hold fasts that foever spawn new plants, even after beeing in totally dark barrel for 6 months with air stone. they just keep growing back. prolifera grows in dense waving fields, like turtle grass. but pulls off the rock easily if you want to thin it out or rid of it. it looks nice too.
it stays put. and rarely goes asexual dumping a load of nutrients to the tank. it just needs good flow through its fronds and a 6500K or 50/50 PC lamp to grow. the blue in the 50/50 seems to help it grow and stay clean of slime algae.
After checking, yes feather caulerpa is in the bottom refuge, was doing some thining last night, found a baseball size piece of plastic steel wool (looks like Chaeto) entwined in the mess, separated the stuff and put it in the top refuge. I moved the light to the top tank, the bottom refuge wont’ see as much light. Hopefully the Chaeto will do better and grow, then keep the Caulerpa thined down, or replace it with one with less issues.
I like that Ideal Gordonious, Once the Chaeto grows, I’ll start thinning the live rock down to make more room. The original bottom refuge with the Caulerpa in it, is where my problem ameone keeps surfacing (antapaia ) (spellcheck) Found 3 in there last night… Basterds… I;ll have to get some pics up soon. Thanks for the input everyone.
Just checking by this do you mean you've moved away from techincal equipment and micromanaging things to just large systems and fuges which are less elaborate or you've moved away from big fuges?
oh i just meant overall. ive always ran a refugium since my very first tank however the main purpose for me has evolved exclusively to nutrient exportation via macroalgae growth. i still use equipment but not very much. i know i posted pics somewhere but my 265g only has a 40g sump filled to probably not much more than half way. it has a decent T5 fixture on it with no sand, no baffles, and two species of macro algea. Other than that i have a BIG skimmer, a small denitrator fed by the return pump, and a fair amount of live rock in the display.
