Setting up Refugium

[staceyfenea]

I am setting up a refugium. Is it better to use live sand or just sand? To get the pod population started do you get Tigger Pods?

 

[wontonflip]

Plain sand is fine, since it will be live in no time. If you want, take a cup of sand from your display tank, and scatter it above your fuge sand, and that'll seed it. Is the refugium going to be attached to the main tank? Or its own entity?

 

[staceyfenea]

The refugium will be in the sump. If I have left over plain sand from the setup can I put it in my DT?

 

[wontonflip]

Oh yeah, definitely. Make sure to rinse it just so there's not as much dust.

 

[staceyfenea]

While I have you on the line (LOL). I have a 55 gal currently but plan to upgrade in the next year to a 125. Would It be ok to put a Foxface in my current aquarium since I will be upgrading before he gets to big?

 

[wontonflip]

Well, Tang police officially say NO lol If you get a really small foxface, then it should be ok. Don't quote me on that or else i'll end up in jail for passing on bad advice :D Nah, it should be fine. You're like me...I started with a 45g...6 months later, I purchsed a 125g, and 6 months after that, I now have a 125g :D I did it mainly so I could get a tang and foxface ;)

 

[staceyfenea]

How deep is the sand bed in your refugium?

 

[wontonflip]

I use miracle mud actually. I only need 1" of it to be effective. A refugium, though, typicall does a deep sand bed of 5"...but I know a lot of people who use just maybe 1 or 2" due to space restraints (if you make it too deep, you run out of vertical space.)

 

[Chris_150G]

If you want a deep sand bed (DSB), then at least 3" deep. Unless your using that miracle mud, I don't know about that stuff. But usually people recomend 6" of sand for a DSB. At about the 3" depth the sand is free of oxygen and aneropbic bacteria will develop which will absorb nitrates. A DSB takes a few months to develop bacteria and start working. It can't get mixed up or it will poison the tank.

If you only will have macro algae and pods then 1" of sand or gravel will work.

 

[Bluespace]

Don't leave out live rock rubble as an option. I am using this method instead of the DSB and it works very well.

 

[staceyfenea]

Would it be ok to use a couple inches of sand and the live rock rubble?

 

[wontonflip]

Anything is better than nothing :)

 

[Chris_150G]

Would it be ok to use a couple inches of sand and the live rock rubble?

That will work great. Just stay under 3" and you won't have to worry about toxic pockets forming.

 

[staceyfenea]

That will work great. Just stay under 3" and you won't have to worry about toxic pockets forming.

This is going to sound dumb - Keep the live rock and the sand under three inches or just the sand? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[daugherty]

just the sand try to keep it at about an inch or over 5in