Starting a display refugium

Susan Edwards · Mar 20, 2017

Lol's @basile It's between 1.5 and 2. What I had. Didn't feel like spending another 60 bucks.

so the tank is cycling with a pc of shrimp and bio spira. I'm hoping I don't have to tear it down. It doesn't seem as steady on the stand as I'd like. Maybe with weight beneath it would be better. The stand is for 2 29 gal. I ended up with a 37, just higher and same footprint and was planning on a 20 gal quarenteen on bottom. Will ck with hubby tonight. Might have to put concrete blocks on bottom and will see if he can maybe also strap to the wall in case of earthquakes. This is calif. but out in the central valley. Haven't felt one since we moved here in 2000.

Do I need to go thru the entire cycle or when ready just plumb to main display. It's a bit larger than a typical refugium so it's a lot of water. Should get my cs overflow box and returns tomorrow.

Okay, so this tank that I got at petsmart, a TF 37 gal, is not the best. Talk about cheap. If I can find a place online to leave a review, I plan to. Might also contact the company.

-The worst is this neon orange sticker right above the water line that tells me who built the tank and when.... Who the he** puts a manufactors sticker where it can be see and where the consumer cannot remove it? It is between glass and trim.Right now I can barely see it with the water line and the skim and bubbles but hey, guess what? The camera got it... will find a pc of black acrylic to silicone over it. Petsmart did give me 20 off tank. I'd already painted it when I found it. The way I handled the tank, it was from the back and that eye sore was hidden from my view otherwise I could have painted the other side.
-Hood is one piece. Meaning every time I want into the tank I have to pull it off totally. What? Who thought of that? There is a feeding hole but people do have to get into the tanks.
-Power hob filter makes this awful grinding noise every so often. Scare the heck out of me.
-Thermometer has no markings for temp adjustment. You just turn blindly... And of course if it isn't high enough you have to remove hood, fight the cord for the led lights to move the hood just to get to it

I just keep telling myself its a refuge but dang it, it's a display refuge. and yeah, I won't need the therm. or hob filter once I'm hooked up, and yeah, guess who has to go on amazon and buy new lights...

Looking at led's. I sure see the difference between just whites and my rs max lighting. Wow.

Susan Edwards · Apr 15, 2017

Okay, except for plumbing the two tanks together--need hubby and he's in gardening mode getting his garden in, the refugium is finished. Ordered more dry rock to add to it. Didn't like what I had and it is on display after all. Not sure where all the macro's need to go as it is very difficult to get good info on placement as most people put in sump refugiums So for now, this is what I've got. Add some to my main tank, put in a suction cup shower soaps holder to see if that would help with my nitrates until the tanks are hooked together. Refugium should be about done with it's cycling. Been almost a month. A good 3 weeks I think, from Mar 18th. Don't have any cuc yet. Have to find ones that won't eat the algae or the pods when I add them. Water is still cloudy from me tearing it apart and redoing it.

Susan Edwards · Apr 17, 2017

No one beat me up but I added a damsel to the refugium so there'd be some food for the good bacteria and something in there for me until I get pods. I need to see if this macro algae grows so pods have something besides rock so I'll wait on those for the algae to grow. Yes, I know a refugium is a refuge... But it's also a display so it's a combo refuge and second tank.... Besides, my rock work has all these cool caves and crevices that are perfect for a small fish... Can ya tell i'm hooked... I think the rock work turned out a bit better than some of my rock in the main tank!! And no, I'm not changing...

I should probably add a nassarius snail to clean up food the fish doesn't eat? Not

sure if a hermit will attack the plants. There's not really any algae yet. Diatoms went away.

Susan Edwards · Apr 17, 2017

Think I need to add a canister filter as I'm not getting good filteration with just the hob that came with the tank. Lots of debris and it's going to be a few more weeks before I get the two tanks plumbed. I figure I can always use it after and just take media out and put in rubble rock. Wouldn't it make a place for pods that would also not harm them going in and back out? .

Or I could see if the second one I have that clogged with sand is fixable and have 2 on the tank.

Susan Edwards · Apr 21, 2017

Update: Ordered a canister filter for the refugium as the hob that came with the tank is not very effective (being polite here) and I'm weeks away still from getting tanks plumbed together.

Hooked it up and already my tank is clear and has really nice water flow and ariation on the surface which it didn't have before. We'll see if it helps with the cyano as the refugium is going thru that stage.

Came with a spray bar which spreads the flow. when I get my tanks connected, may keep the canister and just take out anything that can trap pods like the filter floss and sponge. Am also wondering if I couldn't hook the chiller, when I get one, to it. Out flow of filter to inlet of chilller. Would make that so much easier if feasible.

I put rubble in the bottom basket, bio balls/ceramic ring mix next, carbon and purigen in the next up, the carbon and floss it came iwth next, and the sponge and floss on top.

my damsel didn't make it two days. Not sure if my chaeto which was blocking where it was hiding kept it from coming out or not or if my flow and filtering were so bad. Tank looks so good now. Had no idea how big a difference the canister filter would make.