to fuge or not to fuge

[leveldrummer]

that is the question. im about to glue the baffles in my sump, and im debating about putting a fuge in. the main reason is that i want to keep a mandarin, so i want an area for pods to go nuts. if i just stack live rock in my return chamber, it should be good right? nice little place for them. im running an external pump, so it should clog that thing up too bad. is this going to work like that? im not a huge fan of the macro algae and such else in a sump, just seems like more to do. here is the basic of my sump.



the one with the arrow is the one im debating. any help? will rock piled in the return help/hurt anything?

[Mark L]

I hope you get some good feedback about this, I am considering doing one also.

[VWD]

I have a few Refugiums and Like them on tanks with DSB's I will add That I tend to agree with Geoff as pod don't go from the Refugium to the display tank. You will have to move them over. It is a safe haven for them. and as much as I look at my tanks, I have never seen them blow in by the return. I do think You can keep your nitrates down to nothing and that is why I have them,
Now on my BB, I don't use them, To me it is no longer BB with a refuguim.JMO

[Wiskey]

In the true sence of the word I don't like Fuges (It's the miricle mud type I don't like):

However, I never setup a tank with sand without a bare bottom, low flow section of the sump with a light over it and a clump of cheto inside.

This serves 2 benifits. The Cheto helps on exporting phosphate and nitrate, the low flow bare bottom area will help settle out detritus the skimmer did not get and make it easy to remove it VIA syphoning during water changes.

Whiskey

[Geoff]

if you want to keep a mandarin and your tank is small there is only one real way to do it. setup two 10g tanks with a HOB filter on it. put a lot of LR rubble in it. feed the daylights out of it. you will have more pods than you know what to do with, which is the point isn't it. the problem comes about 3-6 months later when the 10g tank crashes. this is why you have two. when you are resetting the first one the second one is still producting pods. this will need to continue for as long as you have the mandarin, or untill you are able to get it to feed on prepared foods.

keeping corals happy and keeping mandarins happy go against each other. corals like clean water. mandarins like pods, which like dirty water.

G~

[xtopher]

I would stay away from the fuge. Just they are basically a hassle. IMO a phosphate reactor with the right media can do WAY more than a fuge can.