Refugiums

[revolutionhope]

I am seeking ideas etc for how to setup a sump with refugium and would like to ask if anyone can share pictures and/or dagrams (if you sketched any) of their setup and any insights they may have!

Love n peace

Will

[jayc]

@revolutionhope,

Jarad set one up recently.

Did you see this?

 

That's pretty much it for a basic refugium design.

 

[revolutionhope]

Thanks@jayc yep I love his setup and I've been following the thread :-)

Jarad has been a big help advising me for how to plumb my future setup.

[Jarad]

So I drew this up for @revolutionhope today. It is just a rough guide but will help anyone setting up a sump with refugium with the basic principals of what is needed for a 3 section setup. Drawing is not to scale.
DSBs ( deep sand beds ) get a bit of negative attention and are more commonly used in marine setups however adding one to your shrimp / freshwater setup is a great way to deal with nitrates, DSBs can only become dangerous when disturbed ( Pro tip, don't disturb DSBs XD )

 

Edited September 12, 2016 by Jarad G Davey

[jayc]

1 hour ago, Jarad G Davey said:

DSBs can only become dangerous when disturbed ( Pro tip, don't disturb DSBs

There are pro tips,  and there is Jayc's Pro tip - "you don't have to use sand in the refugium. You can use inert gravel or plant substrates. It is going to be used to grow plans afterall."

The plant substrates will add to the overall pH of the system,  so be careful. Use inert gravel if you don't want pH to drop to low. But plant substrates don't have the negatives of deep and beds which can trap nasty gases.

When the buffering has been expired in old substrate, a refugium is a nice and easy way of adding new buffering substrate without disturding the main tank layout. 

[Jarad]

 

1 minute ago, jayc said:

There are pro tips,  and there is Jayc's Pro tip - "you don't have to use sand in the refugium. You can use inert gravel or plant substrates. It is going to be used to grow plans afterall."

The plant substrates will add to the overall pH of the system,  so be careful. Use inert gravel if you don't want pH to drop to low. But plant substrates don't have the negatives of deep and beds which can trap nasty gases.

When the buffering has been expired in old substrate, a refugium is a nice and easy way of adding new buffering substrate without disturding the main tank layout. 

I completely agree with you, and yeah there are other denitrification methods. I'm a hardcore sand man , as a result of habit you could say :)

[jayc]

Just now, Jarad G Davey said:

hardcore

Lol all good. 

 

Just had a thought,  that last section of the refugium, it doesn't need to be empty. Use that space for Marinepure blocks or similarly high surface area bio media.

[Jarad]

27 minutes ago, jayc said:

Lol all good. 

 

Just had a thought,  that last section of the refugium, it doesn't need to be empty. Use that space for Marinepure blocks or similarly high surface area bio media.

I have my mesh nets of mineral balls and alder cones in there, as well as a decent sponge filter :)

Edited September 12, 2016 by Jarad G Davey

[jayc]

Chuck in some ceramic rings at the very least.

[Jarad]

45 minutes ago, jayc said:

Chuck in some ceramic rings at the very least.

Keeping it minimal, the existing filtration ; both mechanical and biological is more than adequate :)