too new to know what a refrigrium is?

what is a refrigium(i dont even think i spelled it right)? I think it has something to do with the sump right?

 

A refugium is a seperate location for copepods and macroalgae to flourish. Some are located in sumps but ideally they should be a seperate vessel all together because the flow requirements are different (Slower in Fuge). The idea is to biologically reduce nitrate and nuisance algae such as GHA (green hair algae) and cyanobacteria through the addition and cultivation of desirable algae such as caulerpa or chaeto

 

A refrigium is like a refugium, only it can be used to keep a cold six-pack as well. ;D

 

a refugium....its exactly what it is defined as. Simply a place for organisms to live safely. In reefing terms it is used to describe a sump with lifeforms in it usually living among macroalgae.

A sump is wanted because it adds water volume and its a place to add ugly equiptment like skimmers, heaters and reactors. You can also add chemicals and top off water in the sump so it mixes well before hitting the display. Most sumps utilize some sort of mechanical filtration too like filter pads and filter socks and bio balls. This is somewhat the older method for filtration. Most people these days make fuges because it offers all the benefits of a sump but instead of using mechanical filtration.

Most tanks with fuges rely heavily on natural filtration vs mechanical. A refugium is nothing but a hybrid sump. Place in sand, rock and macroalgae. Give it some light to grow and place it on a reverse lighting cycle opposite from your display. That way there is always a light on and it will help maintain a stable ph all 24 hours of the day. After about a month of running, macroalgaes will be flourishing and copepods, worms, isopods, amphipods will be multipying daily. Normally in the display tank, most of these animals would be predated on. In the fuge they are safe for the most part and eventually get sucked back into the display tank and provide a constant source of food for certain fish. All sump creature are very beneficial to your tank. Same with the added water volume. The macroalgae is your natural filtration, it sucks up nitrates and phosphates and keeps algae to a minimum in the display.

Sorry for the long reply, hope that helps a little.

 

hahaha hilarious.

 

wowzers!!!! makes perfect sence though....i had to ask because I am goint to eventually get a 150 long and slowly starts buying stuff through out the year so thanks for the info.

 

add on question, do i pronouce it right??

ree-fuge-umm

its funny i dont talk to alot off ppl about this hobby 99% of it is reading, and i have no idea if i pronouce any of this stuff right in my head. i spent the first couple of months thinking i had a green bird "race" (wrasse)...lol

 

thats funny...i agree with you on the reading lots lots of reading which is great I just like to see wheat other think before i go trying something.

 

this is a refugium, stock photo from google. there are many variations and my diy is a 10 gallon Brute trash can.

 

Just to make the great explanations a little clearer.... a fuge is a fuge is a fuge. It can be in a bucket, in a tub, in a separate tank, or a separate compartment in the sump. A sump is a sump and a fuge a fuge. They have different jobs and are not hybrids of each other. For simplicity they can be put in the same vessel, but still seperate.

There is no natural filter. There are mechanical, chemical, or biolgical filters. Depends on the substance you want to remove and the means in which you remove it. A macro algae could be considered a chemical filter because it takes up phosphates and nitrates in photosynthisis. But don't think of it as filtratin of the tank. In most cases we are talking about mechanical filters such as floss and socks, or biological like live rock and sand beds. It isn't enough to just say "filter". There is a big difference in what you are trying to filter and how you are trying to filter it.