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It is very hard to refute the facts that refugiums are GREAT for your aquariums. They supply the Deep Sand Bend that host all the beneficial bacterial to breakdown wastes and house all the flora and fauna that feed on the detritus and waste food. The macro algae and “rubble” on the top of the DSB provide shelter and breeding grounds for a huge potential of copepods, rotifers, shrimp, etc. The Macro algae itself provides a very effective nutrient export as well. I will even include fast growing xenia coral which is yet another effective nutrient export. The combination is a simple and highly effective natural filter that can totally replace mechanical filtration and expensive skimming. I recommend having 1 gallon of fuge for every 3 gallons of tank. Therefore for a 100 gallon tank you would be best with a ~30 gallon fuge. I would not bother with anything less than a 10 gallon fuge. More is ALWAYS better. Bellow are my fuge packages that are completely ready to go and includes absolutely EVERYTHING you need to get started.
COMPLETE 10 gallon Fuge Package for $150 DELIVERED - Satisfaction Guaranteed*
2 x 90 Watt equivalent compact Florescent flood lights (bulbs and hanging fixtures)
- Rio mini 150 Powerhead (at 1’ head = 40 gph)
- Simple overflow made from sch. 40 PVC pipe (proven design - http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/nice-cheap-diy-overflow-29396.html)
- 20 lbs of High quality, locally sourced crushed shell LIVE sand
- 3 lbs of crushed shell rubble
- 2 Large handfuls of macro algae (mainly consists of cheato, but also includes some red and brown types as well)
- 1 clump of Xenia and 1 SPS Frag
- A few small chunks of live rock (~ 1 lb) for further seeding of DSB
Included in the above is an assortment of life, including worms, copepods, shrimp and an assortment of other unidentified life. I make sure to siphon up some of my live mysis shrimp (see pic) and larger tiger pods.
- (all above is wet weight)
- 2 liters of home cultured phytoplankton (greenwater to feed the tank)
- 10 Gallon Rubbermaid tote (I would normally send you to walmart and pick one up yourself, but it makes a good shipping container anyway).
- Detailed Instructions for setup and operation
NOTE: This fuge is designed to have a higher elevation of the top surface of the water than the tank (even in another room or outside!). This is critical. In this setup, the RIO pump provides the flow from your display or sump and into the fuge. The fuge then overflows into your tank/sump. There is no chance for overflow of the fuge. If you mount the fuge below you tank you need to mount the RIO on the outlet of the overflow and make 100% for sure that the supply from your tank/sump’s overflow is well below the capacity of the pump. You will need to restrict this flow and in this case this package will not provide all the required piping and valve.
This price INCLUDES SHIPPING! All of the above is shipped underwater to keep alive, insulated with a heat pack. However, I ship via priority plus so it will take 1 day or more depending on where you live.
* - excluding all shipping costs
Please e-mail me for pricing on larger packages or for more info.
The Live Sand includes a large population of spaghetti worms that are detrivors (eat detritus and leftover food) and thriving in my systems.
A healthy refugium will also grow other life, such as sponges, tunicates, alga, ect. You may be surprise what ends up growing.
One of my healthy, happy refugiums
Typical lighting for a 25 gallon refugium.