What is best to run in a refug for fowlr..?

[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Hello everyone! It's about to go down!! My tank will be coming in next weekend! I'm new with this sump/refug and wasn't to sure on what I should run in.. I'm getting a 240g tank with a 55g custom sump.. I decided to go with a mag drive 24.. I am just running 1" drains and returns on it.. I'm going with a barebottom display just to see if I like.. I was going to run a deep sand bed in refug.. (Crushed Coral).. I have order everything so I was trying to see what else I could do for my refug and what you guys/gals recommend.. Thanks for all the advice in advance..


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[Sniperhank]

Well, you are right about skipping the crushed coral. That stuff is a debris trap and will cause nitrate issues down the road.
If you have 1 lbs per gallon of sand in your display, there isn't much of a need for more of it. A bare bottom sump also makes clean up a breeze.
Personally, rather than a refugium, I would suggest making yourself an algae turf scrubber. They are really easy to make and the algae growth on the ATS keeps nitrate levels down with great results.

 

[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Oh no.. I am going with a dsb in sump using crushed coral.. And I was going with a bare bottom display tank.. Sorry if I mistaken you..


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[Sniperhank]

Oh, well that can work as well. Though I would skip the crushed coral and get sand instead.


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[Sillyfishies]

Oh, well that can work as well. Though I would skip the crushed coral and get sand instead.


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+1. I have a grudge against crushed coral! But I would just do cheato/live rock/DSB. An edition of an algae scrubber could be helpful also.

 

[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

I already ordered the crushed coral and is in a bucket :-( So I have to go with until I get purchase the sand alil down the line since I can't return it.. Would this be fine to get my tank cycled..? And I'll order the med grade sand in a month or 2.. And I will do the algae scrubber in my med section.. It seems easy so I'll do that THANKS FOR THE IDEA! I didn't purchase a protein skimmer either so I'll put that there for the meantime.. Is a rio2500 to big for algae scrubber bout 800+ gph ..? Or should I use aqua clear power head..? Idk the exact gph but I know it's a lot smaller than the rio..


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[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Typo* until I get to purchase


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[Sniperhank]

You can start with the crushed coral...it'll just be a pain to remove and then add sand. This stuff really won't do anything in terms of getting your tank cycled, you need an ammonia source for that. This bagged sand and such being marketed as 'live' is false advertising IMO, but I'm not going to put the stuff under a microscope to see if there is any bacteria in the water...I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway.
A good rule of thumb for any pump is to put a ball valve on the return end of the pump so you can adjust it to where the flow through is perfect.
In terms of a skimmer, you might not need one on a FOWLR system and an ATS running on it. You'll get an idea of how things are going as the system gets up and running in terms of what your parameters run at and what needs adjusted. You totally can add one, but why if you don't need to?

 

[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Yea true.. Put I have plans on getting one.. Be cuz I might get a banded cat shark but I'm not 100% on that yet.. What do you recommend on cycling the tank with just carbon, or chemi pure..? What do you recommend.. In the terms on this I'm still a newbie and I made many mistakes when I started my first tank and just want some others input on it.. Do you think it would be good to start the tank with the algae scrubber..? (During the cycling phase) or should I wait until the cycling period is done.. And another thing.. I'll just have about 50 lbs of live rock to put in my tank so that kind of sucks for me.. I'll be gradually putting some in there every 2 weeks.. I know it's bad to have a bare bottom tank and less to no live rock.. But I will have a very deep bed in my refug bout 5in+.. Would affect the cycle in anyway.. And what do recommend me doing to help the process..? I know it's a lot of questions but any info is helpful


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[Sniperhank]

I'd want as much of the rock in at once to cycle. You'll need to find a way to keep them stable from falling over or the glass can break.
As for cycling, throw a cocktail shrimp in some pantyhose and let it do it's thing.
You can run the ats while cycling. It needs to get worked in anyway.
As for livestock, sharks need hundreds of gallons to survive. I'd do some heavy research on a site like liveaquaria.com to plan things out before you waste time, money, and a fish's life.


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[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

So don't waste any carbon or chemi pure..? Just a cocktail shrimp and ones of my old lady stocking..? And throw it in my where i would put my carbon.. Or in my display..?


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[Sniperhank]

Just tie it off and throw it into the display. It rotting will create the ammonia you need to cycle your tank. Cycling builds the bacteria needed to complete the nitrate cycle, aka what prevents your fish from being poisoned to death.
Don't waste the carbon or chemi-pure during the cycle. Wait til things are done and you are adding livestock.

 

[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Ok man thanks.. This actually my stand I build.. I'll be using a 18in led light for the sump area and a 72in led for the aquarium.. I'll be mounting it from the wall so that it is hanging over the tank and I have a quarantine tank right next to it.. I just have my green bird wrasse, marine beta and bursa trigger.. My tank is going to be 8ft long.. And btw in the refug what should I run in it with dsb..? I know people usually put pods and stuff in there.. Do I need to do that with me just running fowlr..? And some people run that green plants idk what it's called.. What do you think..?


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[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

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[Sniperhank]

Refugiums have macro algae in them to export nutrients. Cheato is a popular choice. But if you run an ats, you won't need a refugium. They do the same thing by use of algae.


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[FOWLR-JUNKIE]

Oh ok.. I'm just going to go with the dsb.. Just to get some control in ph so I'm going with barebottom


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