Refugium Flow
- Thread starter ttf617
- Start date
thats about the same in mine...i think i have the ice cap 36 sump
My refugium has some surface agitation because of the way I positioned the pump (my refugium is separate from the sump), but it's still not enough to keep a film from forming that I need to remove every now and then. If there is too much flow though the refugium, it defeats the purpose.
High flow with piped return spray bars to make the algae roll.
Flow should be high enough that the nutrient levels in the fuge dont bottom out, anything higher than that is fine and should be based on what you have in the fuge.
Flow should be high enough that the nutrient levels in the fuge dont bottom out, anything higher than that is fine and should be based on what you have in the fuge.
That is not true at all. Nutrient uptake occurs at any flow rate as long as its available in the water. Unless you are blasting your algae apart there is no downside to high flow in a fuge.
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Unfortunately, with the way the sump is designed, theres no way for me to increase flow without adding a pump. I have a pretty bad film in mine that I should probably start removing on water changes.
Is there any benefit to higher flow or having the algae roll? I have Dragon's beath in there with some rock and thats all. Seems to be doing a great job tbh!
Rolling the algae just makes sure the whole mass gets even lighting. Its not a requirement but it does help, I have dragons breath and cheato and one other kind of red something in there.
Surface film isnt harmful, it just blocks light and looks bad. You can add a pump to agitate the surface but unless you agitate the whole surface there will still be spots with a film. I have this issue on my QT tanks since they dont have an overflow that can surface skim.
BUT....If youre going to add a pump to increase flow, may as well look into trying to get the algae to roll.
Surface film isnt harmful, it just blocks light and looks bad. You can add a pump to agitate the surface but unless you agitate the whole surface there will still be spots with a film. I have this issue on my QT tanks since they dont have an overflow that can surface skim.
BUT....If youre going to add a pump to increase flow, may as well look into trying to get the algae to roll.
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To piggy back on this thread, is there a good resource in northern Atlanta suburbs for chaeto? I could order it from algae barn but they want $65 for freaking chaeto.
