New Refugium

I have a 150 fish only - mostly triggers. Been battling brown slime & nitrates for years. Still don't know if it's cyano or algae or diatoms. I have tons of filtration, 4 ft protein skimmer, chemical filtration via canister & a denitrifier. I'm setting up a 30 gallon decorative refugium next to the main tank to scrub the water. I'm planning to use chaeto, caulerpa & ulva, plus colorful macros so it looks good.
Questions...
1) What types of snails will eat the alge/slime & won't eat the macros?
2) Should I purchase pods or are they in the macros?
3) Best place(s) to purchase the colorful macros?
4) I'm only going to add a couple of dragonettes & maybe two seahorses to the fuge once the pods are established, do I really need detrivores like blue legged hermits or nessarius snails?
5) Should I run the lights 24/7 to avoid caulerpa going sexual?
Thanks!

 

Welcome to 3reef. No snails that I know of will eat cyano, but almost any will eat the diatom. Pods will come in on macros but you may also want to add some. Macros are usually available in many colors at your LFS, but also at online dealers (I don't know of any offhand). I would only add one dragonette and leave the other dragonette and Seahorses be or just add the seahorses. Two dragonettes and two seahorses will quickly leave the refugium pod free. Seahorses also require expert care and you need to do TONS of research before acquiring them. Generally in a fuge you want to run the lights on an opposite schedule as your main tank to help with oxygen at night. However, in a decorative refugium case, you probably just want to run them on the same cycle, not all day. This is especially true if you have fish. It would be very odd for a fish to have eternal daylight, wouldn't it? It would likely be very stressful.

Good luck.

 

I don't know how much luck you will with a decoraative refugium. I tried this and the refugium took on the algae from display tank and now all my refugium with a bunch of cool plants are all covered with the algae from display tank. I am rather new to this hobby and may just not be doing it right. Here are the answers I can anwer IMO.
1. certh snails are in myrefugium just a few
2. I did. One bag.now they are everywhere what a explosion of them
3. One of the sponsers of 3reef. Reef Cleaners has some realy cool stuff. John Malonie
4. If you put a dragonettes will probaly depleat any pod population with in days,as for blue legged crabs I don't know. I guess not as that is what the pods and plants take care of.
5. I can't answer that? I just turn mine on when dt is off.
Good luck hope I helped a little.

 

Welcome...heres my 2 cent

1. Look into chitons or limpets maybe...
2. With time you will have more than enough pods, they repro' like rabbits.
3. LFS...not sure about online...not sure if plants ship well...
4. I would add something to the fuge to stir up sand and if food goes does your overflow, the blue legs will eat it. It would take a while for ur fuge to break down a large flake or pellet that wandered in there.
5. Run lights 24/7 or on opposite schedule of DT...