i read alot about how a refugium helpswhen you have it in a nano tank and how you can have a bigger stocking list. but how do you add one and is it expensive. im going to set up a 12 g nano cube and its my first one so i want to set this tank up perfectly and the only way i can do that is research.
how do you add a refugium
- Thread starter marinebiologist
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they sell hang on tanks to make into refugiums, they are like $100 or something you can get them from marinedepot or drsF&S
or you can DIY one with a HOB filter
or you can DIY one with a HOB filter
a fuge is not of much use on a tank that small. the fuges main purpose is to grow copopods and cheto. the pods are to feed things like manderin fish (witch you cant keep in that small of a tank anyway). and the cheto is used to absorbe nitrates(witch you should not have an issue with because you wont have any trouble changing water in a tank that small) the money would be better spent on a skimmer upgrade
If your just using it for cheato, and you have a jbj if I remember correctly...I would just throw in the cheato and one of those very small pool lights (they can go underwater and are at hardware stores sometimes) in a chamber and leave it on pretty much 24/7 to keep it from going sexual (then its toxic)....or you can use a light and do it from above, or cut out the back black part on the outside rear and attach put the light next to that. Or you can do hang on, or hob filter, or like a sump. In the 12, I would just mod/use an existing chamber imo. However esp. with the type of plant you plan on using, read about it and be very informed, and trim it too, bc if you do it wrong, you could end up with a mess on your hands.
If its possible, due to the placement of chambers and filter equiptment on the back in the NANO kit style tanks, i would go with a HOB. You'll have more water volume in the fuge for more cheato and sand and what not, which will also give you great nutrient export capabilities, which is good to have in small systems, because nitrates and phosphates can get high, fast due to the break down of food, waste, and the natural nitrogen cycle.