Is having a refugium in the back of an innovative Marine AIO a good idea?

Jorda320 · Dec 15, 2021

Hi everyone, I'm in the early stages of looking at getting a small to medium tank and I've been looking at some of the 24-in cubes from Red Sea and water box as well as smaller options such as the 40 to 60 gallon innovative marine AIO tanks. I've never plumbed a tank so the Red Sea and water box options are a little bit intimidating. I do hope to have a refugium of some kind and in the past I have used simple setups of some kind of light over a hang on refugium or with some knitting mesh scraped up with sandpaper to grow hair algae. I know IM has there refugium light that sticks on the back with Chaeto or a different macroalgae in a media basket.

My hold up on this is that I've never had luck growing macroalgae. I could grow hair algae like crazy in a refugium so I was thinking about trying the knitting mesh in a back chamber of an AIO with the IM lights but wasn't sure if that was a good idea. I like the idea of getting a simple refugium going in the sump of the Red Sea or water boxes but if I could avoid any kind of plumbing I'm going to be happier and I'm sure my wife will be happier as well as she really isn't a fan of any potential water leaks. I was just looking to see if anyone had any input that might give me insight into my options here.

Townsaquaria · Dec 15, 2021

I think refugiums are really important, and after running my biocube 29 for 4 years, I really wish I had one to combat nuisance algae. But, I never wanted to do the refugium in the back so I ended up with nothing. I've always struggled with algae in this thing.

We recently upgraded to a red sea reefer 250, and having the sump area for a refugium rocks and is so easy. Don't be scared of the plumbing. I spent a decade running from plumbing, and then found the reefer tanks that make it super easy. They have all of the pipes cut perfectly, the bulkheads are already in place, there's no gluing, and everything snaps right in to each other. With an octopus sump pump you can literally pop on tubing and you're good to go. Sometimes you have to just dive in the deep in to realize its not actually that bad.

ISFNick · Dec 15, 2021

In my opinion it's best to keep things simple, and I like to do that with an AIO system and a protein skimmer if my nutrient levels indicate I need it. Refugiums are great but in an AIO it's difficult to pull off. But worry about a refugium a few months down the line.
Worry about your cycle first and getting a diverse population of nitrifying bacteria. Get some copepods which will help eat algae film. Cycle with the lights off for the first two months and then acclimation mode on the third month. Have some Vibrant on standby. Add coralline algae to help cover the rock before algae can take hold.

Good luck!