Need some help with refugium.

Hello everyone I am pretty new to saltwater systems. I just purchased the cadlights 39G all in 1 system, it has a full size direct-skim refugium on back. Any suggestions as to what should go in the chambers? Right now the first chamber has filter media and bio balls. The second chamber has the skimmer. Third chamber has nothing. Fourth chamber has the waterpump connected to the wave making return nozzle. I don't know how to make the picture smaller to fit on here, so if you want to see a picture, go to cadlights.com. I would like to start a reef tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

 

here's you tank (39gal.) but not showing the back areas .

 

I would throw those BIO-balls in the garbage (nitrate factory ) and in the empty 3rd chamber ( should it be like a over flow to the final 4th chamber ) you can put sand in it and make that chamber the refugium .

 

I 2nd that motion LOL yah that should work well this way.

 

Cadlights 39G aquarium bioballs

Wildreef,

When you say throw out the bio-balls, what would you replace them with in the filtration chamber?

Also, any specific sand better suited for the 3rd chamber?

You can tell I'm very new at this as well but learning much from this forum.

Thanks,
CKM

 

use the finest grain aragonite live sand you can get for the fuge chamber, maybe toss some chaeto in there or something as well...

if you want to lose the bio balls I'd put in a carbon bag and maybe some filter floss, or atleast a micro-sponge but that's just me

 

For what replaces the bioballs- go get lots of tiny LR rubble and put it where the bioballs went. Ditto on the third chamber being a little fuge.

 

Thanks for all the info!!!

Couple of question for a newbie ---- first, what is chaeto? and where do you suggest the best place to get this stuff online? (carbon bag, filter floss, micro-sponge).

Thanks!
CKM

 

What is Nitrate , where does it come from and what does it do ?