Cryptic Fuge?

[PotatoPig]

So I’m still building out my tank (75 gallon, 20 gallon sump, FOWLR) and currently my sump is ultra basic - heaters and filter socks, with a few spare rocks thrown in.

My goal is to turn this into a refugium, primarily to produce pods.

One option I’ve seen mentioned is a “cryptic fuge”, which sounds attractive to me as it doesn’t involve lights and harvesting chaeto or keeping chaeto alive.

Reading up on these I wanted to check if I have the right idea. My understanding is I want a bunch of live rock rubble, with some but not a lot of flow through it (flow rates in image are range for pump), with sand and a little space for the inhabitants to exist.

Is the below layout on the right track? Are flow rates about right? It sounded like the goal is modest flow? Is it a problem water would be flowing *up* through the rubble? My impression is this would help flush pods to their eventual doom in the display tank, but worried it would have negative effects also if it stirred up detritus?

Notes: Baffles are already in place, as are pumps, heaters, filter sock. No egg crate yet, nor substantial live rock rubble. Future skimmer planned, but not in place.

 

[Dan_P]

So I’m still building out my tank (75 gallon, 20 gallon sump, FOWLR) and currently my sump is ultra basic - heaters and filter socks, with a few spare rocks thrown in.

My goal is to turn this into a refugium, primarily to produce pods.

One option I’ve seen mentioned is a “cryptic fuge”, which sounds attractive to me as it doesn’t involve lights and harvesting chaeto or keeping chaeto alive.

Reading up on these I wanted to check if I have the right idea. My understanding is I want a bunch of live rock rubble, with some but not a lot of flow through it (flow rates in image are range for pump), with sand and a little space for the inhabitants to exist.

Is the below layout on the right track? Are flow rates about right? It sounded like the goal is modest flow? Is it a problem water would be flowing *up* through the rubble? My impression is this would help flush pods to their eventual doom in the display tank, but worried it would have negative effects also if it stirred up detritus?

Notes: Baffles are already in place, as are pumps, heaters, filter sock. No egg crate yet, nor substantial live rock rubble. Future skimmer planned, but not in place.View attachment 2996094

One thought. Will it be easy to clean the junk that will accumulate under the egg crate or maybe you don’t care about that? I wouldn’t

 

[PotatoPig]

One thought. Will it be easy to clean the junk that will accumulate under the egg crate or maybe you don’t care about that? I wouldn’t

Do you mean you wouldn’t set a tank up like this or you wouldn’t worry about detritus accumulating?

 

[Dan_P]

Do you mean you wouldn’t set a tank up like this or you wouldn’t worry about detritus accumulating?

Sorry, I guess I tried to say too many things without commas

I don’t worry about the accumulation of detritus. If you do, make cleaning under the egg crate easy on yourself because that area looks like a good accumulator of detritus.