Thoughts on Display Refugium

[FishingGoalie]

So lately I have been thinking about having a Display Refugium. It would sit underneath of my tank. I would like to have 2 Clownfish and a BTA. I need this to be SUPER simple I want it to be hooked up to my other system so then i would have one very large system. I also want this to act as a refugium not just a big tank for tank for a couple clowns and a BTA. Ive never had a refugium so i need to know what some of your guys thoughts are. Because the tank is at the same level as my sump i would need 2 pumps. I would like this to be very cheap. Nothing will be taking place until after summer. Any thoughts on this or how i could design this would be helpful. Would i now need a bigger Skimmer? How big does a refugium have to be to actually effect anything? Will this be just another Butt Load of work? Has anyone had a Display Refugium before? What kind of lighting would I need? Could I incorporate A frag tank with the BTA and clownfish?

Sorry for all these questions.

Here are a few photos to get you guys thinking

It would sit underneath the tank. On the other side of the wall is the sump.



This is the fish room keep in mind that this picture was taken 3 months ago and that it is all set up now.

[Dez]

This was my display fuge 11 yrs ago. The whole point of a refugium is for a place where critters can take refuge. I would advise against having any fish in because they'll just end up eating all the pods etc, this defeating the purpose of a refugium in he first place.

[FishingGoalie]

What if I made a separate section for them? like an acrylic wall with holes drilled in it?

[mark]

Still think Dez's old tank layout was great but why not the clowns and BTA in main?

[FishingGoalie]

Originally Posted by mark

Still think Dez's old tank layout was great but why not the clowns and BTA in main?

I don't want the BTA walking around stinging my other corals and eating my fish

[kien]

Originally Posted by FishinGoalie

I don't want the BTA walking around stinging my other corals and eating my fish

The 'nem will only eat your fish if your non-clownfish try to high-five (or sleep in) the anemone. Fish are dumb but they are usually not *that* dumb :-)

However, the walking around and stinging of other corals is definitely a concern.

[Dez]

I haven't lost a fish to an anemone yet. I also have more corals than most. And I have 4 bubble tipped nems (started out as one a few years ago). They haven't wandered. I just let them settle and aquascape around them.

[FishingGoalie]

So i shouldn't be worried about the BTAs? How fast will they kill a coral? What corals will they sting?

[LoJack]

Originally Posted by FishinGoalie

So i shouldn't be worried about the BTAs? How fast will they kill a coral? What corals will they sting?

They can kill a coral very fast, and they'll sting almost anything. What Dez is saying is that it worked for him, but there is no guarantees that your nem won't take off one day.

His approach is definitely the most likely way for success though, add the RBTA early ... let it find its spot and keep an eye on it. Once it's growing and doing well and hasn't moved in a while, aquascape around it, because it has likely found its forever home.

However, that being said ... they can still pack up and leave whenever they get the inclination to. I had a nem move on me twice because I changed the parameters of the tank and didn't really think about it. When I replaced my bulbs ... he moved lower after being in the same spot for months, but the change in lighting caused him to move. Another time I added a few extra powerheads because coral growth was limiting my flow ... and once again he packed up and took off, and this time he stung everything along the way.

Nem's can be done safely ... but there is always a risk with them, no matter what

[FishingGoalie]

Originally Posted by LoJack

They can kill a coral very fast, and they'll sting almost anything. What Dez is saying is that it worked for him, but there is no guarantees that your nem won't take off one day.

His approach is definitely the most likely way for success though, add the RBTA early ... let it find its spot and keep an eye on it. Once it's growing and doing well and hasn't moved in a while, aquascape around it, because it has likely found its forever home.

However, that being said ... they can still pack up and leave whenever they get the inclination to. I had a nem move on me twice because I changed the parameters of the tank and didn't really think about it. When I replaced my bulbs ... he moved lower after being in the same spot for months, but the change in lighting caused him to move. Another time I added a few extra powerheads because coral growth was limiting my flow ... and once again he packed up and took off, and this time he stung everything along the way.

Nem's can be done safely ... but there is always a risk with them, no matter what

Thanks for the info. would adding a small one be better then a large one?