54g reef tank

[Melina]

Originally Posted by michika

Sounds like a good set up. Is a refugium included within the sump?

Nope but he said one could easily be added?? Gosh I am so new to all this, I don't know, he explained it all to me, something about having 2 returns from the pump for really good water flow? I am so lost when it comes to the technicalities. I'm just sort of blindly following his advice because I trust him. Meantime I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I still have to learn exactly what a refugium is. Is it to grow food for the inhabitants? duhhh I'm such a beginner!!!!!!!!

Hey what do you all think of the Tek Light T5's, will they deliver enough light in the new tank which is 24" deep as opposed to 20"?

[Reefer Rob]

If there is room under the stand go a little larger on the sump and have a refugium built at one end. If you had about a 12" cube that overflows into the main sump it would be a great place to grow macro-algae for nutrient export.
May as well start off right, you're going to want it later anyway

[0sprey]

Refugiums are used to grow certain kinds of live food... particularly copepods and amphipods. These are the foods needed for fish like the mandarin dragonet and seahorses...slow eaters that often refuse dead food. You can also grow macroalgae in the refugium for nutrient export (it absorbs nitrates as it grows, and when you prune it, it removes the nitrates from the system).

An alternative to the in-sump refugium is to try to find space for an upstream refugium... that's a 'fuge that's kept above the tank. You pump water up from the tank and have an overflow take the water back. This provides a steady stream of live 'pods for the tank. You can buy HOB ones, but they're usually small... a fuge with a proper stand above the tank is the best option.

I should, of course, note that I do NOT have an upstream refugium, mostly because of extra cost. Mine is in-sump.

[Melina]

Originally Posted by 0sprey

Refugiums are used to grow certain kinds of live food... particularly copepods and amphipods. These are the foods needed for fish like the mandarin dragonet and seahorses...slow eaters that often refuse dead food. You can also grow macroalgae in the refugium for nutrient export (it absorbs nitrates as it grows, and when you prune it, it removes the nitrates from the system).

An alternative to the in-sump refugium is to try to find space for an upstream refugium... that's a 'fuge that's kept above the tank. You pump water up from the tank and have an overflow take the water back. This provides a steady stream of live 'pods for the tank. You can buy HOB ones, but they're usually small... a fuge with a proper stand above the tank is the best option.

I should, of course, note that I do NOT have an upstream refugium, mostly because of extra cost. Mine is in-sump.

I understand now, thanks!

[Reefer Rob]

I had an "upstream refugium" on my last tank, it was a real PTA. It was impossible to have the water flow back into the tank without creating bubbles, which pop and make a mess of your nice T5 lights.

[Redrover]

This is pic of the Sump with an integrated refugium
Marc [ SuperFudge ] from Hidden Reef, this the kind of work he does
Top of the line....Again welcome to Canreef
RJ

[Sushiman]

Welcome aboard; you like burning up $100 bills too huh? You've come to the right hobby!

[Melina]

Originally Posted by Sushiman

Welcome aboard; you like burning up $100 bills too huh? You've come to the right hobby!

LOL yeah I guess I do!

Hey, just wondering about when it's time to fill the tank with saltwater. Can I mix the saltwater in the tank? I know you should never do this once there is livestock in the tank, but what about the first time I fill it?
I'm thinking of the buckets I will need to get. If I do a 10% water change once a week, is it 10% of my display tank's volume (6.5g), or 10% of the total volume (+sump = 9g). I am wondering how much water I will have to mix for each water change. If I find a 10g+- container, when it comes time to fill the tank for the first time, do I have to pre-mix the salt in the container before adding it to the tank? I'll have to do this about 9 times if I have a 10g container (about the biggest I'm going to find, methinks). Can I just fill the tank with RO/DI water, then add my salt to the tank instead?
Then I think, I need to have it only partially filled when the live rock & sand arrives...

How am I going to do this? Here's what I'm thinking: Fill it half full, say 30g, mix in the salt... turn the powerheads on and let it aerate while I wait for the rock to get here... then fill it with the rock. Then top it off with RO/DI water and add the correct amount of salt to the tank again to reach my desired salinity?

What do you think?

[michika]

Mix your water outside of the tank, unless the tank is completely empty, no sand, no rock, nothing. If you want to add water after you add rock you should do it pre mixed. Mixing in salt and water in a tank with liverock could kill off your beneficial bacteria and any pods that may have shipped with your rock because of swings in salinity.

If you want to do 10% I would say it should be of the total volume of the system. It doesn't have to be exactly 10%, you could always just go for two 5g buckets, or if you have a separate tank set up for mixing and preparing salt water, then go that route.

[Redrover]

If you go to Google and type in setting up a reef tank
There is a number of good ways...it takes you from start to finnish
Anything you want to know in regards to reefing you will fine



RJ