HOB converting into refugium

[Scots_art]

struggling

Well my HOB arrived , and at the moment i have it full of filter floss to try and clear the water up.
Also i am wandering how i can convert it into a refugium , as you see it only has 2 ends that can hold sand at the moment , i can get 1.5" of sand at each end.
so i am wandering how i can convert it to a refugium and get more sand in it if possible , and still able to have a filter sock with phosphate remover , i was going to have that in the middle where the most flow is / water comes into the filter.

there is not as much room in the filter as i was wanting lol.

back of the filter

looking down into the filter

and looking into the filter from the side on

 

[Smitty]

I'd hold off on putting sand in there, and just place some cheato in there to convert it to a refugium. You could even put some live rock rubble in there vs sand.

 

[ob_on3]

+1 smitty... exactly how I have my hob refugium setup...just some rubble rock and calupora...nothing more...and make sure u have proper lighting on the chaeto...

 

[Scots_art]

see here in the UK LR rubble is frowned upon , and people say not to use it because it does nothing etc etc.

thats why i was mentioning sand.

but i will need to look at lighting , as my tank is in my bedroom so i dont want a light shining while i try and get to sleep , so i will need to think of a way to stop the light shining out.

 

[ob_on3]

Well...I have a regular hardware store like...like 3$... just gotta make sure its 6500k...as far as light...u can run it at the same time u run ur regular tank lights...although some people say run it opposite to tank running hours.....I feel the same...I won't have bright lights on while I'm sleeping.

 

[Scots_art]

yeah i have found a small led clip on light that is 6500K thats only £14.99 in my money so no extra heat build up , and i can make a taller box lid to sit over the top to stop the light at night.

at least i got a reply here . still no help on the UK forum i am on lol.

 

[FishyReef]

Rubble is just smaller pieces of live rock that have broken off from the larger pieces. I was really confused in the beginning about rubble, thinking it was similar to crushed coral. Then I actually bought some rubble and figured it out! Basically think of it as any small pieces of live rock that are anywhere from an inch to a few inches. Its useful because it provides more surface area for bacteria to grow and helps provide slower flow places in a refugium for pods and other good critters to grow. You don't need sand in a refugium. I'd just put some rubble and chaeto in there and get a small clip on light to hang over it that has just a regular white bulb in it (nothing fancy). I'd put chaeto on one side and leave the other side open so that you can add carbon or other media every once in awhile to polish the water. If small enough you could also hide your heater in there. Nice pick up!

 

[Scots_art]

na i know what LR rubble is , but it is under the general opinion here in the UK that it is nothing more than a waste of money and time and causes more harm than good as its so small it clogs quicker and is of no benefit to anyone lol.

i have the heater in the display tank hidden behind open rock work , as its a 100watt heater it is far to big for the HOB sadly . i will have to order a heater guard for it to stop fish burning them selves on it / snails sticking to it . as it did not come with a guard.
But so far the prices i have seen stores here in the UK sell are more expensive than the heater lol.

one UK store was wanting $22 for a heater guard , and my heater was only $14 lol.

but i think i will be going the LR rubble on one side as well as cheato, and will leave the other side empty for phosphate remover media etc

 

[FishyReef]

If rubble is expensive then just buy a piece of dry rock and smash it with a hammer. Rubble should be large enough that it doesn't clog. Thanks for reminding me about heater guards - I need to look into getting some of those for my small tank! Good luck and post some pics once you get it up and running :)

 

[Scots_art]

na rubble is cheap ( for the UK ) anyway lol. i was talking to one member on here via pm about LR prices and i think he got a nasty shock at how expensive it is in the UK compared to what the prices are in America.

the smallest amount of rubble you can get is 1 KG and it will cost me £19.95 so over $30 basically , but i bought 2.5 KG of LR to seed my tank and the ceramic rock . so i can set about one bit with a hammer and get rubble from there lol.
and the other bits left over will go into mom's 15 L tank.