Refugium to Grow Mandarin Food
 

Hi there,

I'd like to get a Refugium going on my 100 gal + 50 gal sump tank so that I can grow the necessary food for Mandarins. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

tagging along

If you have the room I'd set up another little tank, 20-30 gallons, where your sump is. You can either pump water from your sump into it and drain it back into your return section of the sump, or set your drains from your DT so that some of that water drains into your refugium, and from your refugium back into the return section of your sump. Then set up that little tank just like another DT with maybe some macro algae and non-pod eating little critters.

when refugiums were the new craze, many articles suggested keeping some kind of macro algae in the refugium and keeping it under 24 hr lighting. The idea was the 24 hr photosynthesis would also keep your CO2 levels constantly in depletion to avoid pH daily cycles... including continuous phosphate uptake from the water around the clock. The macro algae also provides habitat & food for critters like isopods and amphipods etc.

the real reason I am advocating the lighting is... I shamelessly have a 36 inch double florescent light strip for sale in my For Sale thread. See link in my sig... :lol:

oops, just noticed you're in BC. I'm no where near you... but the thought on the lighted refugium is yours to keep

I have a 20 gal with just a blue damsel in it. It is too far to plumb it in though. I suppose I could manually move water back and forth a couple times a week.

As for the macro algae, where do you get it? What critters are not pod eaters?

Will the pods just grow? What is the minimum sized plumbed in tank? I've heard of people making refugiums out of plastic pails. What do you think of that of of the hob refugiums?

Plumbing it in together is the way to go. If you get a good steady flow between the two systems, they act as one system and provide greater stability... and you'll get the continuous benefit of the nutrient uptake especially in the evening when the light is out in your main tank (all photosynthesis in corals/algae stops, only respiration, CO2 production, pH drop). How critical this benefit is... is debatable. The bigger the refugium the more habitat/food for critters, the more macro algae you can grow. in my opinion, if you're just looking for isopods and amphipods, just get lots of live rock for hiding places so that your fish don't eat them all as they forage all day. Most bottom fish eat amphipods and isopods. Dragonets hunt for them, whereas others sand sift through their gills & pharyngeal arches (like watchmen gobies) and eat stuff/pods/worms caught that way.

as for where to get the macro algae... check LFS or just start a thread here... LF refugium macro algae in [insert your town]

PS- you don't have to do 24 hr lighting on the refugium if you don't want to for whatever reason. Some have in the past advocated reverse daylight... ie turn on lights in refugium when lights is off on your main tank. One more heads-up, macro algae can go "sexual" in reproduction. Look this up in google or search the threads here. Can ruin your week.

my reproducer is my tank!! thousands of them, all kinds, i got 1 mandarin and too much of the pods lol

Fernie us only three hours from Calgary. Basically by the crowsnest pass.