Refugium

Discussion in 'Refugium' started by john300389, Mar 4, 2009.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. john300389

    john300389 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2009
    Messages:
    64
    Location:
    Aberdeenshore, Scotland.
    Am i right in saying - If i have a refugium with macroalgae, i probabaly wont need a phosphate reactor?
     
    john300389, Mar 4, 2009
    john300389, Mar 4, 2009
    #1

    2. Click Here!

  2. phoenixhieghts

    phoenixhieghts Panda Puffer

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2007
    Messages:
    2,121
    Location:
    Manchester UK
    Not completely - if you have an efficient refugium then you may not need to run Rowaphos etc..
    But not all refugiums completely remove nitrate/phosphate.
     
    phoenixhieghts, Mar 4, 2009
    phoenixhieghts, Mar 4, 2009
    #2
  3. james37128

    james37128 Coral Banded Shrimp

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2008
    Messages:
    353
    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Depends. Macro uses a certain ration of nitrates to phosphates. I don't know what the exact ratio is but it is something like 10-1. So if you have low nitrates the macro may not be able to "eat" or "use" all the available phosphates. I recently ran into a problem like this, it was a combination of things, low nitrates and low iron. Nearly all my cheato died, I tested phosphates an they were quite high for a reef tank (over 2.0) , but trates were unreadable. I connected a phosphate reactor after that. Now my cheato is slowly coming back, but both my trates and phosphates are unreadable now.
     
    james37128, Mar 4, 2009
    james37128, Mar 4, 2009
    #3
  4. kgross

    kgross Skunk Shrimp

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2009
    Messages:
    250
    Location:
    Nampa, Idaho
    I would say that most of the time you should still have a phosphate reactor, but with an algae filter your media will last a lot longer.

    Now if you fuge is very large compared to your display tank, the phosphate filter will not be needed, but you do need a very large fuge to export all the phosphate that can build up in a system.

    One thing on Phosphates, most test kits do not measure low enough levels to actually show that it is as low as NSW. Many test kits will not detect levels below .5, and you want it around .03 ppm.

    Kim
     
    kgross, Mar 7, 2009
    kgross, Mar 7, 2009
    #4
  5. DarthClownfish

    DarthClownfish Flamingo Tongue

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2009
    Messages:
    105
    What is optimal is to strike a balance. You want the system to use as much PO4 as it generates. I am a proponent of large refugiums. The system I am building now is a 40 gallon breeder with a second 40 gallon breeder as a refugium. I don't expect any issue with PO4
     
    DarthClownfish, Mar 7, 2009
    DarthClownfish, Mar 7, 2009
    #5
  6. kgross

    kgross Skunk Shrimp

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2009
    Messages:
    250
    Location:
    Nampa, Idaho
    You might be able to keep up with that size of a fuge, as long as you put enough light on it. Most people do not put enough light on the fuges to make them work as well as they can. The thing to remember is that most of the algae we grow comes from very shallow water so it can handle full reef lighting, while most people through a few 20 watt bulbs over them....

    I would love to see a regular set of PO4 measurements with a good low range test on that setup just to see how they do work out.

    Kim
     
    kgross, Mar 7, 2009
    kgross, Mar 7, 2009
    #6