Hey, wanted to ask what everyone's thoughts were on nano refugiums, and if it would be any use for nitrate reduction in my scenario.
I have the 20 gallon JBJ nano cube AIO that you can see here https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/20-gallon-nano-rimless-aio-aquarium-jbj.html and it's been doing pretty great as my first tank.
It has 2 clowns and a royal gramma, 5 dwarf blue leg hermits, 5 trochus snails, 3 nassarius snails, and around 10 small frags of softies and zoas which are all doing well and I'm getting good growth, especially on my zoas.
However, I have kind of high nitrates at around 25ppm but my phosphates on the other hand are great, they're somewhere between 0 and 0.03, kind of hard to tell on the Salifert tests. I think I see a faint blue tint but I could just be imagining things.
I've been doing weekly water changes at around 10 -15%, but haven't seen it drop at all over time. It's steady at 25ppm. I understand that 25ppm nitrates isn't the end of the world and stability matters more than anything, but I'd like to lower them over time just so I have some more breathing room and to help reduce algae in the future.
So to the point of the post, I'm considering starting a small refugium in the middle rear chamber of the tank. The chamber is 3.25"L x 5"W x 16"H, which isn't the biggest but it's better than nothing. I'm thinking about getting a cheap submersible light and running it for 12hrs at night to grow some chaeto in the middle chamber. Is it worth trying out or am I just wasting my time on such a small tank?
I'm also interested in a refugium as a safe haven for copepods, not planning on getting a mandarin or anything, I just know that they're a great member of the clean up crew.
Thanks
I have the 20 gallon JBJ nano cube AIO that you can see here https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/20-gallon-nano-rimless-aio-aquarium-jbj.html and it's been doing pretty great as my first tank.
It has 2 clowns and a royal gramma, 5 dwarf blue leg hermits, 5 trochus snails, 3 nassarius snails, and around 10 small frags of softies and zoas which are all doing well and I'm getting good growth, especially on my zoas.
However, I have kind of high nitrates at around 25ppm but my phosphates on the other hand are great, they're somewhere between 0 and 0.03, kind of hard to tell on the Salifert tests. I think I see a faint blue tint but I could just be imagining things.
I've been doing weekly water changes at around 10 -15%, but haven't seen it drop at all over time. It's steady at 25ppm. I understand that 25ppm nitrates isn't the end of the world and stability matters more than anything, but I'd like to lower them over time just so I have some more breathing room and to help reduce algae in the future.
So to the point of the post, I'm considering starting a small refugium in the middle rear chamber of the tank. The chamber is 3.25"L x 5"W x 16"H, which isn't the biggest but it's better than nothing. I'm thinking about getting a cheap submersible light and running it for 12hrs at night to grow some chaeto in the middle chamber. Is it worth trying out or am I just wasting my time on such a small tank?
I'm also interested in a refugium as a safe haven for copepods, not planning on getting a mandarin or anything, I just know that they're a great member of the clean up crew.
Thanks
