Refugium users in BB

giants4pc · 10-02-2006, 11:24 PM

I have a 30 gallon sump baffled in three areas. The first is the output from the overflow. The middle chamber holds the skimmer. The right side has the return pump, but also has extra LR and Chaeto. I do have a mandarin in my setup and notice the vast amount of copepods in the main tank. Things seem fine as is. Does anyone recommend against it and can you make a compelling argument for ill effects?

Viv · 10-03-2006, 02:03 AM

I don't think I would recommend against it or make a argument for it, curiously I wonder why you have extra LR and chaeto to begin with? It would seem to me that the extras in your sump are areas for more collection of detrius and not necessary, at least that is what I have found. If you have a good skimmer connected to your sump and siphon out detrius from the main tank when it appears everything else just falls in line. Nitrates and phosphates don't build because they are taken out via the skimmer. The detrius is siphoned out so it doesn't accumulate. The rock cleans up because there is no extras floating around in the water. Are you using the area in the sump for a home to increase copepods?

giants4pc · 10-03-2006, 05:34 PM

giants4pc · 10-03-2006, 05:35 PM

Yes, that is exactly what I am doing. I keep a mandarin s

giants4pc · 10-03-2006, 05:36 PM

Ignore the previous thread. I keep a mandarin so I use a fuge to house chaeto and LR so they can reproduce. I do siphon my main display all the time. Who recommends doing away with the fuge?

gwaco · 10-03-2006, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giants4pc

Ignore the previous thread. I keep a mandarin so I use a fuge to house chaeto and LR so they can reproduce. I do siphon my main display all the time. Who recommends doing away with the fuge?

me

! but that would also mean you will probally have to relocate the mandarin also . its pretty much your choice but viv had pointed out about detritus build up , and that would be my number one reason to not have one . remember the rocks are always shedding .

giants4pc · 10-03-2006, 09:20 PM

Do you think the LR in the main tank alone would produce enough pods for the mandarin?

gwaco · 10-03-2006, 09:32 PM

i say no. but also i haven't kept a mandy in quite sometime . i'm sure others out there have done it successfully though ,hopefully they will chime in . if you are lucky enough to have one that eats commercial fish foods than i would first say ( your one the lucky few ) then say you have a much better chance . one thing! you never stated what size tank and whether their were any other pod eating creatures !

Viv · 10-03-2006, 09:37 PM

Oh, I see...I think the only way to be truly sure is to have a back-up of pods somewhere for the mandarin, then take the LR/Chaeto out of the sump to see what happens. If you didn't have enough being produced in the main tank you could supplement and then put back the system you currently have...but I think, to just place LR and Chaeto in the sump to increase bacterial bioload or get rid of Nitrates/phosphates is just defeating the whole idea of the BB system and isn't necessary.

Mike O'Brien · 10-11-2006, 10:25 PM

I didn't have enough for my mandarin after switching to bare bottom, but maybe after the tank is more mature it would be better. Now I'm running a refugium and there still isn't as many pod's compared to my sand bed tank. Pod's go where the detritus is and there is not much in the display even with a refugium attached.

BLEEZY · 10-11-2006, 11:04 PM

i think your mandarin will soon starve as i have kept many in many sized tanks, only in a large dsb+fuge tank have i had any long term success.
i have had two in a 15g with a 30g fuge and phyto and cheato for pods.i have had them in a 60g fuge, only to starve even with a huge amount of pods and daily phyto additions with cheato growing like weeds.
then i bought one and am yet to add it to my 125 display, now its hunting in my fuge untill it eats the pods, which i assure you it will clean out in two or three days. when i had it in the 15g crawling with pods, it cleaned it completely out in two days, when i have had them in a 60g fuge, they clean out the entire population in a matter of three or four days. i have only kept very small babies too. i am hoping i can keep them alive in my 125 which has more pods than i have ever seen in a tank.

Geoff · 10-17-2006, 10:02 AM

how will the pods get into the main tank?

if you want to keep a mandarin setup a couple of cess pool 10g tanks and feed the daylights out of it with phyto. then scoop out the pods and feed them to the tank.as long as you do not have any super aggressive feeders, or you can train the mandarin to come to the copepod filled net you should be fine.

it is a good idea to thave the cess pool tanks on a seperate cleaning schedule. that way when one tank is being reset, the other is still producing pods.

once i removed my DSB, my pod population crashed. i am sure i do not have enough pods to support a mandarin. i have a 125g tank.

G~

NoSchwag · 10-17-2006, 02:15 PM

I've had one in my super clean BB tank for probably about 8 months now. This one doesn't eat prepaired foods. You will be surprised how many pods your tank will have.

Flatlander · 10-17-2006, 08:48 PM

Mine is over 4yrs. old now. After switching my tanks to bare bottomed he started loosing weight. And he was always fat before, plus he eats frozen bloodworms, mysis & others. Just goes to show how much they depend on pods for survival, no matter what they eat.

I had to move him to a friends 170 for a period of time to fatten him up. Now he,s back in my tank, but I still have rubble & the such in there for now. Its a good thing he will swim into my hand, so I can easily move him if needed.

Another problem I found, is that my 2 yr. old copperband also eats any pods he can find. I have never seen anything wipe out a worm & pod population like him.

Anyways, if I remove the rubble from mine, {and yes, it collects detritus}, I may have to give my friend away on a more permant basis.