My Refugium

You can have lava rock as well, but basically you should be aiming for rock that has a good growth of encrusting algae ("sea lichen"). Be sure (living in Honolulu this may be a concern) that the area is not polluted, but if the rock does have a good growth that should be indicative of it's quality.

If you can, look for some hermit crabs and brittle stars as well. Hermits and many snails can be found by looking in tide pools which I'm sure you know, and brittle stars are found under rocks, the same ones that would make good live rock.

Remember to only take smaller (up to a few dozen pounds a piece) pieces and try to be as non-destructive as possible. Also you may need some sort of permit.

Lynden said:

You can have lava rock as well, but basically you should be aiming for rock that has a good growth of encrusting algae ("sea lichen"). Be sure (living in Honolulu this may be a concern) that the area is not polluted, but if the rock does have a good growth that should be indicative of it's quality.

If you can, look for some hermit crabs and brittle stars as well. Hermits and many snails can be found by looking in tide pools which I'm sure you know, and brittle stars are found under rocks, the same ones that would make good live rock.

Remember to only take smaller (up to a few dozen pounds a piece) pieces and try to be as non-destructive as possible. Also you may need some sort of permit.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the information, Lynden.
Do I need to prep the rock before I put it in the tank you think?

If you dont have long to go, I wouldnt bother "prepping" it.

Also wanted to get your guys's thoughts on charcoal filters.

Do these things work in nano systems.

If the charcoal is high quality and activated (otherwise known as carbon) it is very helpful to remove coral toxins. There is some controversy on how long it is effective for. I do recommend it.

Ditto, a lot of people will tell you it's more useful in a time of need rather than constant use for prevention. I personally recommend using it as often as possible but especially have some on hand in the event of an emergency.

much appreciated guys....wasnt sure to ask such a seemingly rudimentary question but I was aware of the two sides of the fence on charcoal and nanos.

I think Im about ready to change this thread from "My Refugium" to "My 13 gallon Nano Journal"


I was able to simply and cost effectively solve the inlet overflow issue. I just bought an adjustable flow powerhead rated for 200 gph. I think its running about 170 to 180 now so its working fine. Got the black live sand going with live rock rubble in the first chamber as recommended.

Its looking good so far and will have photos soon to document the progress.

Well its been a week since I finally started my nano. I just wanted to share my initial setup as it is still very early. I will be adding much needed live rock and algae this coming weekend Im hoping. From there I'll be waiting again for water quality parameters to settle before adding my first inverts. I hope it will be very much like the other poster in this folder who took some of his critters from his large reef tank and placed them into his new nano. Wow what a tank that is!

Anyways my tank is a 13 gallon custom plexi with built-in refugium. I currently have 2 Rio 600s controlling flow. No heater needed as Hawaii atmosphere keeps this tank temperature manageable year round. Lights include a 80 W fullrange and moonlight.

As stated earlier, the refugium still is in need of lighting so Im still open to suggestions. Im thinking about installing another fixture in the back of the hood, but Im not sure if this is at all necessary or if maybe a simple pico clip on would suffice. Theres only going to be algae (middle chamber) and live rock (1st chamber). The last chamber with the Rio will contain a phosphate removal media and high quality charcoal. Im not sure about the bioballs, guys. I added that in there only because the guy I bought the tank from included them in the deal (I have a large bag of these things now). I am open to ANY suggestions to improving this tank as I am still a novice and am still sponging up info.

Well without further adieu....

Another photo

The refugium with issues

A close up of my black sand. Sadly I will probably end up removing a lot of it and make it a more shallow bed. Ive been told by some posters that having this much may not be necessary and may cause some unnecessary buildup of gases. Its nice looking stuff though.

Nice thread, like to see how it progresses. Not sure about the charcoal dont know if it would be benifecial or not. The phosphate removal is essential. On the lighting front I have heard of people using high powered LED's even in canister filters (drilled and sealed) might be an option.
Regards
BigC

BigC said:

Nice thread, like to see how it progresses. Not sure about the charcoal dont know if it would be benifecial or not. The phosphate removal is essential. On the lighting front I have heard of people using high powered LED's even in canister filters (drilled and sealed) might be an option.
Regards
BigC

Click to expand...

Hey Big C...Ive seen your thread so your advice/opinion is very respected. Regarding the charcoal, Ive asked members here as well as my LFS on charcoal and the majority have said that high quality released charcoal is definitely a good way to go. I think I'll give it a try and see how it goes.

Whats your opinion on bioballs? I really should be doing more research on them I suppose but I actually just kind of threw them in that bottom chamber because "everybody else is" I guess.

Anything else you would add to a refugium like mine? Algae is going in the middle chamber. Interesting tidbit from the LFS...he told me to trim the algae at certain times because if I dont, all the impurities its collected will be released back into the tank.

Looks good, you also seem to have very nice counter tops

chrissaysyes said:

Looks good, you also seem to have very nice counter tops

Click to expand...

Haaa.... thanks for noticing. All granite. I can give you a contact if you ever move to Hawaii.

Hey PT,
I'm only a newbie to this side of things myself. I was going to use carbon but marine grade carbon is expensive. I would just use reef rubble instead of the bio balls. on a word on algae in the refugium please read this it comes from another site.
Caulerpa is a great choice for a refugium when you run the refugium light 24 hours a day. When you don't Caulerpa goes asexual and releases spores and it will overgrow your tank, not to mention the spores release a mild toxin which can deplete available oxygen. Chaeto is the way to go here.
Just a thought.
Regards
BigC

BigC said:

Hey PT,
I'm only a newbie to this side of things myself. I was going to use carbon but marine grade carbon is expensive. I would just use reef rubble instead of the bio balls. on a word on algae in the refugium please read this it comes from another site.
Caulerpa is a great choice for a refugium when you run the refugium light 24 hours a day. When you don't Caulerpa goes asexual and releases spores and it will overgrow your tank, not to mention the spores release a mild toxin which can deplete available oxygen. Chaeto is the way to go here.
Just a thought.
Regards
BigC

Click to expand...

Interesting....chaeto. I will take this into heavy consideration and do some other research. Do you happen to know if its light demands are strong? Still up in arms about what to do with lighting back there.