Aquarium refugiums
by Mick
advertisement
As the name suggest a refugium is basically a refuge for macro
algae, copepods, amphipods, shrimps &
fish species that require quiet surroundings away from predation, bullying etc.
They are normally connected to the main display
tank or in close vicinity as they need to benefit from the high
water quality that is maintained in a reef
tank. And this can only be achieved by the
water being pumped directly into them which is then allowed to drain back at a steady, constant pace. Some
fish keepers keep refugiums purposely to breed their shrimps & copepods. They also provide ideal conditions for seahorses, mandarins, pipefish & all
fish that require calmer
water flow.
SETTING UP A REFUGIUM:
Any small
tank can be used to create a refugium; in fact on the market nowadays it is possible to purchase a hang on variety which is just as suitable.I have used a 10 gallon
tank for this purpose in the past.
Now we need to supply a
water supply to fill the
tank. This is done by means of a small
water pump or even better a direct
feed from the protein
skimmer as the oxygen content will be at its highest. Placement of the
feed pump if used should be below the
water line in the main
tank so that oils, proteins etc. are not pulled through from the
water surface, & ideally the outlet should be fed back to a
sump by means of pipe work & let gravity do the work if not then a small return
pump would be required to
feed back into the main
tank.
When I have set mine up I always used a sand bed with a 2 depth with a small amount of live
rock rubble as once this is established it can also aid removing
nitrates from the
water & found it a good place for caluerpa which will also consume
nitrates & phosphates, various other macro
algae which would otherwise be
food for the tangs in the main
tank therefore defeating the object of keeping it on display.
These are also an excellent place for keeping a thriving copepod population which can be harvested for feeding your livestock. Once your caleurpa has settled in & growing well it too can be harvested to
feed your herbivorous
fish.
LIGHTING YOUR REFUGIUM:
Every refugium should have its own lighting source & I have had good success with the clip on halide lights, no need for a large wattage I found 40-50 plenty, sustaining my caleurpa growth with no problems, but people I have spoken to have as much success with a small T8 or T5 lighting system .
There are no set rules for the position of the refugium, be it at the side of the tank, directly above or even hanging on the side as long as the water feed is constant from your main tank it will be a great addition & also aid in the filtration of your system.
sponsored links
Aquarium refugiums
has been viewed times since June 30, 2009.
Share your experiences, use as many words as possible! Also, got questions? We'll answer them! All comments are held for approval and moderation. Bear in mind that we're receiving questions every hour and every day. In average over 100 questions each day! That's why we
NEED your help.
Become our sponsor (click here) and we'll be able to answer you fast. Even though we're doing our best to answer all questions, many of them have to wait over a month or a couple of months until they're published and answered.
Donations will make a difference!
Don't use URLs in your comments (such comments won't pass our spam protection)! Subscribe to our
RSS and be notified when your comment becomes visible. Also use
forum.aqua-fish.net!
Check out the most popular articles on our site!