Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I know little about them, what is the reason for them,why should we have one??..... thanks in advance
Refugium Anyone ?
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Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
They are generally used for salt water tanks, rather than FW tanks. The main reasons are that most of the equipment can be hidden in the refugium, making the display tank more attractive.. and also because salt tanks use a bit different method to manage nitrates. They use anaerobic bacteria that live under a bed of sand, and these turn nitrate in nitrogen gas. This sand bed is usually in the refugium. Sometimes shrimp are kept in refugia and their eggs or young serve as food for fish in the main tank.
In freshwater tanks, we manage nitrates by doing water changes, and often by growing plants as well. Nitrates are the end result of the action of the filter bacteria in the filters, which convert the toxic ammonia fish produce; first to nitrite, then to nitrate. Two different species of bacteria accomplish this, and need oxygen to do it.
Some folks do keep a sort of refugium for FW tanks though. You can hide the equipment in it, same as for salt tanks, and you can even keep some other species in it, maybe some shrimp, that might not be ok with the fish you have.
The last thing a refugium does is provide a larger overall volume of water, which means less chance of a tank crashing, or problems with water parameters, especially if you tend to stock heavily. Having more water is always a good thing, and if you have room for a refugium and don't mind the extra plumbing, it's not a bad way to go. You can even do different lighting in a refugium and use it grow some different plants than in your main tank.
Hope that helps.
In freshwater tanks, we manage nitrates by doing water changes, and often by growing plants as well. Nitrates are the end result of the action of the filter bacteria in the filters, which convert the toxic ammonia fish produce; first to nitrite, then to nitrate. Two different species of bacteria accomplish this, and need oxygen to do it.
Some folks do keep a sort of refugium for FW tanks though. You can hide the equipment in it, same as for salt tanks, and you can even keep some other species in it, maybe some shrimp, that might not be ok with the fish you have.
The last thing a refugium does is provide a larger overall volume of water, which means less chance of a tank crashing, or problems with water parameters, especially if you tend to stock heavily. Having more water is always a good thing, and if you have room for a refugium and don't mind the extra plumbing, it's not a bad way to go. You can even do different lighting in a refugium and use it grow some different plants than in your main tank.
Hope that helps.
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Thanks Fishfur, a great post, was interested as someone in America had a huge FW tank and had one plumbed in.........
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Pleased to have been helpful. I'd love to have one on my main tank, actually, but there just isn't any space for it. The largest length I can fit is 31 inches.. so it limits the size tank I can have anyway. I'm planning to add over the top 'aquaponic' troughs instead. They'll add maybe 7 gallons or so, but act as huge biofilters, and give me some space to grow plants in the empty window above the tank.
Mebbid
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sumps are used more in fresh water versus refugiums in salt water.
Refugiums are to act as refuge to grow things. Primarily this is macro algae but could also be shrimp like was stated previously, copepods, or other food sources. It could be done on freshwater by using large amounts of fast growing easy to care for plants, but the effect would be minimal.
A sump on the other hand is generally a big filter. You can put a huge amount of filtration media, things like a fluidized sand bed which offers more surface area for bb then any type of filter in existence or a wet / dry drip fliter which is also very efficient for growing bb. Also like was stated previously, its great as a place to store equipment to keep it out of sight.
They are very very nice, but can be kind of expensive to set up.
Refugiums are to act as refuge to grow things. Primarily this is macro algae but could also be shrimp like was stated previously, copepods, or other food sources. It could be done on freshwater by using large amounts of fast growing easy to care for plants, but the effect would be minimal.
A sump on the other hand is generally a big filter. You can put a huge amount of filtration media, things like a fluidized sand bed which offers more surface area for bb then any type of filter in existence or a wet / dry drip fliter which is also very efficient for growing bb. Also like was stated previously, its great as a place to store equipment to keep it out of sight.
They are very very nice, but can be kind of expensive to set up.
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Would you think a sump would be ok for someone with multiple tanks, rather than just a large tank, if that makes sense.......
Mebbid
Aquarium Advice Addict
Do you mean plumbing multiple small tanks into a single sump? Yeah, thats fine. It just carries some risk of disease outbreak between tanks. Thats the same way lfs do it.
Coyne
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've seen some larger freshwater tanks that use a refugium. There is some kind of propriety substrate called "Miracle Mud" that is supposed to support the growth of the nitrate consuming bacteria. I think it also helped replace the trace minerals that most people forget about.
The tanks I saw also had floating plants growing in it.
One guy had a fairly heavily stocked discus tank and claimed he only had to do two PWCs a year. I'm a big believer in water changes though, so I'm a bit leery about going that long myself.
It all seemed like overkill to me... But the cool kind. I may research it further if/when I set up a large tank.
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The tanks I saw also had floating plants growing in it.
One guy had a fairly heavily stocked discus tank and claimed he only had to do two PWCs a year. I'm a big believer in water changes though, so I'm a bit leery about going that long myself.
It all seemed like overkill to me... But the cool kind. I may research it further if/when I set up a large tank.
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Either that or you could seed lots of tanks from that one sump manually, however it would have the same risk factor, not as much as lfs........
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Not heard about that Coyne, interesting, but I would be like you, leaving WC that long
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've met a chap who lives not far from me, who has a multitude of tanks running. Nearly all of them share a common water supply, all plumbed, and he built an enormous tank/filter that serves nearly all the tanks.
Not quite a refugium, but it's an amazing system to see. For his display tank, in the living room upstairs, he drilled a neat hole in the floor, fit a piece of flooring to cover the hole in case it might be needed in future, then ran a pipe down to the basement and this gigantic tank that's a filter. The display tank is just stunning.. and hasn't any of the usual equipment visible. I think the temp is controlled via the water system too.
Not quite a refugium, but it's an amazing system to see. For his display tank, in the living room upstairs, he drilled a neat hole in the floor, fit a piece of flooring to cover the hole in case it might be needed in future, then ran a pipe down to the basement and this gigantic tank that's a filter. The display tank is just stunning.. and hasn't any of the usual equipment visible. I think the temp is controlled via the water system too.
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Wow, I love the hardware side of things and how they work, how many times the tank water goes through the system, etc. it's amazing..........
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I wish I had pics of the setup my fellow aquarist has. He's put an astonishing amount of work and money into it.. all for fun, pretty much. Keeps many different fish, plants, it's just mind boggling to see it all. The basement tanks are on industrial shelving on one wall mostly. But there's a tank in the kitchen, one in the office.. etc. MTS to the max.
Mebbid
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've heard of miracle mud crashing a number of reef tanks. Never heard of it being used in fresh.
Mebbid
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you want to see an amazing freshwater system with a sump check out this video.
http://youtu.be/0R1pB4yK2gI
http://youtu.be/0R1pB4yK2gI
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
That would be good to see, I recon it is quite an expensive hobby, when I go up to my LFS I can spend £20 just for food stuff.......
seove
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have a DIY sump refugium that holds 30 gallons for my FW 55gal. It's a lot of fun to keep in addition to great filtration.
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Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
So how does it get from sump to tank? Seove, is it pumped from one to the other? I was looking at a video from Mebbid, it was extremely technical, great to watch though
J.Mcpeak
Aquarium Advice Addict
A refugium is a miniature version of the main rank.
It is a "refuge" for critters to grow free from predation.
Normally used in marine tanks, can't think why you'd need one in freshwater?
Sumps are different, a refugium is a section within the sump or a separate entity depending on your space/requirements etc.
Would/could be used for growing algae, having additional rock, copepod production etc. (These are normally marine environment functions)
seove
Aquarium Advice Activist
It is pumped. I return it through hose and drain with an overflow box and PVC piping. You can see some of the construction in the photos.
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