Refugium help..

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AquataHolic420

Fire Eel
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Sep 20, 2006
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HEy GALMA i have some questions for ya.. i am looking into setting up a refugium for my saltwater that i will be putting together in the near future... It is only a 55 G, but i want to set it up using a WET/DRY system... what are all the benefits from having a refugium?

My tank's inhabitants will be a Dwarf Lionfish of some sort, or Radiata, and maybe brownbarred goby, marine betta. Any advice for the setup of this system? what in your opinion would work best?
 
AquataHolic420;560545; said:
HEy GALMA i have some questions for ya.. i am looking into setting up a refugium for my saltwater that i will be putting together in the near future... It is only a 55 G, but i want to set it up using a WET/DRY system... what are all the benefits from having a refugium?

My tank's inhabitants will be a Dwarf Lionfish of some sort, or Radiata, and maybe brownbarred goby, marine betta. Any advice for the setup of this system? what in your opinion would work best?
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I think your tank needs to be bigger to house all of those fish, but a fuge houses animals that won't survive in the main tank and macroalga. When the small animals thrive in the fuge, some go into the tank and you have food. The macro alga remove nitrates.
 
the algea and substraigt do a full nitrogen cycle. depending on the substraight used i recomend miracle mud they also replace bital elements in the water
 
Fwiw, if you have enough live rock and don't over stock you won't need the wet dry. IMHO it will just cause you more problems than it will solve. The fuge is a great way to remove nitrates and grow out little critters like pods etc. Just make sure that you don't use calupera go for chaetomorpha or other non-caluperas as they aren't nearly as likely to go sexual and foul your tank.
hth
Max
 
Max;561568; said:
Fwiw, if you have enough live rock and don't over stock you won't need the wet dry. IMHO it will just cause you more problems than it will solve. The fuge is a great way to remove nitrates and grow out little critters like pods etc. Just make sure that you don't use calupera go for chaetomorpha or other non-caluperas as they aren't nearly as likely to go sexual and foul your tank.
hth
Max
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What would u suggest instead of a Wet dRy,, a canister Magnum 350 ro sumthin? i need to know im pickin this up SUNDAY! thank you..
What filter options do i have for a live rock/live sand Dwarf lionfish tank
 
What ever you get I'd really strongly urge you to run it empty. In general filter media isn't much more than a detritus trap. All it will go is cause your nitrates to go up and you to have to do more work and less is beter imho. Imho the cannister is the best way to go for a few reasons.
1. if your tank is like mine it will have sponges, tunicates, pods etc. in it to help remove nutrients and to provied the occasional snack for your critter.
2. if anything does happen algae outbreak, the addition of a new softie etc. you can add carbon or filter floss on a temporary basis to remove the material or meds from your water.
3. Since you most likely have a background in fresh water you are very used to this sort of set up.
I'd also add some submersible powerheads to make sure that you have a chaotic water flow if you want to do soft corals etc. that will make them much happier.
Your lion will eat pretty much anything without a hard shell that will fit into it's mouth so keep that in mind. I've even seen some of them suck hermits and snails out of their shells but, that is by no mean universal.
hth
Max
 
Max;561884; said:
What ever you get I'd really strongly urge you to run it empty. In general filter media isn't much more than a detritus trap. All it will go is cause your nitrates to go up and you to have to do more work and less is beter imho. Imho the cannister is the best way to go for a few reasons.
1. if your tank is like mine it will have sponges, tunicates, pods etc. in it to help remove nutrients and to provied the occasional snack for your critter.
2. if anything does happen algae outbreak, the addition of a new softie etc. you can add carbon or filter floss on a temporary basis to remove the material or meds from your water.
3. Since you most likely have a background in fresh water you are very used to this sort of set up.
I'd also add some submersible powerheads to make sure that you have a chaotic water flow if you want to do soft corals etc. that will make them much happier.
Your lion will eat pretty much anything without a hard shell that will fit into it's mouth so keep that in mind. I've even seen some of them suck hermits and snails out of their shells but, that is by no mean universal.
hth
Max
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Hey thanks max, I will just hook up a Magnum 350, and now i say SCREW the wet/dry, way to complicated for a novice like me in the saltwater department... I 'll get the hangf of this eventually, i just need some more learnin and time... I was wondering if you think that any fo these fish could live with a Dwarf Zebra lion!
I want to have the Dither fish AKA wimpy fish in the tank first before the lion so they can have territory first, and feel safe. Then after i have established wimpy fish i want to add a baby lion like 3" and let nature take its course from there... I am interested in Corals, but wouldnt that mean i would need a ton of intense lighting> would i need a timer for my lights? i can manage that...But for the first weeks of the setup i just want a cool setup of
Live rock and live sand..
How are these tankmates, if i put a few of them in before the LIOn?
I only want like 4 fish, i just narrowed my list down to these...
-Benggai Cardinals-few of em
-Harlquin tuskfish
-saddleback puffer
-spotted puffer
-Scribbled rabbitfish
-dragon goby-brownbarred giby
-clarkii clown -pair
-chalk bass- 3 of em
-marine betta


What would be ideal? suggestions?
 
Sure, I'll give you my idea but, you may not care much for it take it for what it's worth. Since you want a reef I'd avoid the lion even one of the smaller one's like dwarfs, fumanchu etc. are going to produce quite a bit of bio-load and will severly limit the number and variety of smaller fish that you add and they could potentially put quite a strain on your clean up crew as well. I'm not saying that it's not possible but, for your first reef I'd follow the K.I.S.S. method and let my tank do most of the work for me.

I'll describe your fishes and their habits so that you'll have a better idea of what you're getting into.
banggai or pajama cards- they are excellent low activity fish they might even reproduce for you in the tank. They are also very hardy and are peaceful towards other tank inhabitants.

Harliquin tusk fish- Peacefull towards the other fish and really nice pretty fish. They will however go through your inverts in no time flat and that's just not a good idea in a reef. The clean up crew needs to be as diverse as possible and they'll just look at most of them as a food source.

Puffers and reefs don't go well together they mostly get fairly big and all have an attitude that's bigger than they are . They also will cause a lot of havoc in your reef tank. They the Harli and the lions will do a lot better in a fowlr especially for a novice in s.w.

Scribbled rabbitfish; They get way to big for the tank as a surgeon fish it will be an ich magnent when it's stressed. They also have a razor sharp barb in their tails and aren't afraid to use them . Look for info on lawn mower blenny they are far closer to the size of fish that would fit your tank

Dragon goby are not salt water fish they spend most of their lives in brakish water get a foot long. Gobioides broussonetti is what you mean right?

Chalk bass great! just make sure that you have a tight lid they love to carpet surf.

clarkii great just make sure that they are small fish so that they can work out their sexual roles. Make sure that you buy your fish from the same tank so that the change to female doesn't have a chance to start.

Marine betta excellent cool peacefull fish. It will need hiding places and it will like any fish eat what ever will fit in it's mouth.

Hth
Max
 
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