New Refugium

[KrautBurner]

I just picked this up today from another local reefer


it's a CPR HOB Fuge,
I think it's a Medium AquaFuge2
http://www.cprusa.com/products/aquafuge.html

Includes Powerhead
Water Capacity: 3.60 Gallons
Dimensions: 19" L x 4.5" W x 12" T
Product Code: AF2MD

I got it with just enough water taken out so it could be transported.


I'm not sure what kind of stuff is in it,
if I should keep it as is, or clean it and start with some new mud/sand




any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Russ

 

[MarineDreamer]

Hey Russ,

This is a tough question to answer... And I think that it depends on what you want out of your 'fuge.

The first thing that jumps out to my mind is there anything in there that I don't want to add to my tank? Everything from the dreaded Aptasia to Ich.

Second; what's in there that I want to keep? 'Pods, 'higher' forms algae, bacterial cultures, etc?

You're gonna have to weigh the risks/benefits. Just remember that to get a sand bed meant for denitrifacation rollin' real well takes time... If you opt to start with a sterile environment, it will take more time...

 

[warforged]

I have the same one CPR HOB Refuge but i bought the large.

My little advise is putting a sponge at the intake side you dont want big debris going in there... Dont go too deep on the sand bed....i would say half way point on the wall near the intake...

The person above has good questions... Don't make my mistake and put in micro algae and have a light burn out (took few days to notice) cyno break out in main tank after that.... another story.


If you go for the micro aglae route...get a small compact light ..have a few small chunks of live rock to...live sand. Call it a day.

The lighting cycle ive had two suggestions:
1. all day long
2. only at night to balance the ph

I had mine on a night timer. hence not noticing it was burned out...anyway.. I have lots of pods in mine now..and all is fine...lamp to =p

 

[KrautBurner]

I've decided not to mess with it much,
just gonna leave it alone and let it do it's own thing.

it's hanging on the back of my sump tank now,
I was leaving the light on all the time,
now I'm trying to put it on the opposite cycle as my display tank.
I just gotta get a new power strip with timers