Refugium Q&A

if the DT is already cycled and established then the small potential cycle will be very quick and should not cause the livestock a lot of distress. I would not expect more than a day or 2 to settle back into steady parameters.

 

Okay... That's very good news. lol 8)

 

I'm sure this question has probably been asked and answered hundreds, if not thousands, of times, but..

I'm starting up a refugium in the 2nd compartment at the back of my 29g biocube. What kind of light do I need to keep things running smoothly if I've only got basic algae such as chaeto? I was looking at
Jalli 17" 18 watt Compact Strip, Lighting | PetSolutions
or
Jalli 11" 13 watt Compact Strip, Lighting | PetSolutions
Would either of them be sufficient or does it need more?

Will running the additional lights without fans raise my water temperature a noticeable amount?

If anyone could post links of lights they suggest I would appreciate it, thanks in advance.

Also, I had no idea about the kitty litter, or really using mud at the bottom of sand. Would the litter depth count towards sand depth? (If different bacteria grow at 4" of sand, would 3" litter and 1" sand count for the same or does it have to just be sand?)

 

I'm running caulerpa in my sump/fuge, which is a 20 gal Long divided into 3 equal sections about 10" long and 12" tall and a 4" sand bed using AragAlive sand and a clip on CF bulb that advertised 6500K.

I also get this slime type of film on the surface and at first I just left it alone, but then about 3/4 of my caulerpa died and I assumed it was because the foundation of the plant wasn't getting enough light because of the slime and plant canopy sheilding the lower level from getting the necessary light to survive.

I removed all the dead plant material and I plan on doing regular pruning to keep the "mass" of caulerpa deeper in the water, if thats possible. I'm just looking for any advice in this area to keep my "swamp" nasty and alive.

 

Hope this helps

 

Maybe a bit more surface agitation? How is the water enering the fuge? Can you post a close up pic of how the water is coming in and this "slime" you speak of?

 

Mike, thanks very much for the replies. Sorry to be difficult, but do you know of any flatter bulbs/fixtures? Unfortunately I am quite limited for space behind my tank. Would the fixtures I linked before provide too much or not enough lighting?

Thanks again ;D

 

I T'd of the drain to supply the 'fuge. The main return of the sump is in the center section, the skimmer is on the left and the 'fuge is on the right.

 

Try raising that outlet pipe a little bit out of the water. Maybe cut it and attach a 45 degree elbow to it and making it so that it is only just above the water surface but not pushing down on the bubbles. Make SURE it is not pushing the bubbles down as that is where most people run into micro bubble problems. the water should agitate the surface a little bit to help break down those oils while creating some sort of gentle movement throughout the fuge. the macro algae probably died because it couldn't get enough light through the surface.

Hope this helps

 

What size refugium is this? The 18 watt might be enough. I would use a little bit more. If the refugium isn't too deep, the 18 watt may be enough. When you buy the bulbs, try to get a Kelvin rating of about 5000 to 6500K.