What kind of substrate for refugium

Shipping: BRS makes every effort to securely pack the Rock. However, the UPS automation is not always…. Will it be for a refugium or deep sandbed? Sand that will be used for filtration or refugium, we suggest using smaller particles that will give bacteria more surface area to grow and thrive on. How much…. Remy's Display Refugium Starter Kit includes all of the major equipment youll need to get your display refugium started.

The kit includes substrate and rock to provide structure for mounting your macroalgae and other organisms,…. Live Rock Enhance can also help to revitalize sump biofilters, sandbeds, refugiums, and other areas where detritus accumulates over time.

This allows these natural filtration sites to function more efficiently, keeping your aquarium…. AlgaeBarn's Red Mangrove Rhizophora mangle is aquacultured in a controlled environment allowing them to treat and quarantine it, reducing any risk of unwanted parasites or hitchhikers within the algae.

Red Mangroves trees are a popular addition to refugiums as well as…. This grade of substrate is not recommended on its own for tanks with sand-dwelling or sand-sifting creatures, although it may be used effectively in combination with other finer substrates to fill in bare areas where current is concentrated.

With a recently redesigned black acrylic backing and unique baffle system, keeps the algae and substrate in the refugium and not the display tank.

Refugiums are also a great way to introduce new fish or corals to a tank…. Bacteria-driven ultra-low-nutrient systems ULNS and those run with refugiums or algae scrubbers may actually become nitrogen limited. B-Ionic Nitrate provides nitrogen to the system in the form of highly purified calcium…. A refugium helps control nitrates and phosphates in a natural way by providing space for macroalgae to grow. Macroalgae will compete with nuisance algae within the aquarium, and assist….

Start your first saltwater aquarium in no time! Most contemporary refugiums roughly mimic seaweed beds, where masses of Ulva or Chaetomorpha support massive copepod colonies. Others are dense soft coral gardens, full of Xenia and other voracious filter feeders. More daring refugium designs seek to mimic tide pools, with dense rockwork and huge invert assortments. Others blur the lines into paulidarium 1 territory, where rising mangrove shoots provide limited terrestrial habitat.

These are just examples as many more refugium itternations are sure to come in the future. No matter which ecosystem design is chosen, all refugiums must be biologically functional if they are ever to remain stable and beautiful. In order for a refugium to affect the water chemistry of the display tank, discharge water must have some residency time and therefore, the flow cannot be too rapid.

A general rule of thumb is that the refugiums volume should be cycled once every hours, however this can be greatly increased or decreased depending on the general ecosystem design.

Many refugiums do not have substrate, but these are often the least aesthetically pleasing. If a refugium does have substrate, it is most often the same as the display tank. Having a substrate in a refugium, like crushed aragonite or sand, is often ideal because it acts like a giant filter pad. These organics then concentrate in the refugium where they can be feasted upon by its inhabitants. Some of the most valuable detritivores in a refugium system are the polychaete worms and Nassarius snails which are able to vacuum the sediment.

Refugiums with deep, anoxic sediment layers may also facilitate colonies of denitrifying bacteria, which can directly convert nitrate into harmless N2 gas. In a similar thought, rockwork is also a valuable addition to many refugiums as it provides surface area for copepod and beneficial bacteria colonies. Rockwork is also nice to attach seaweeds and leather corals to, allowing refugiums to be aquascaped. Light is a vital consideration for any refugium.

Dark refugiums are possible, and these are often referred to as cryptic zone refugiums which have their own unique beneficial characteristics. However, illuminated refugiums conduct a lot of photosynthesis and therefore have an increased ability to absorb excess nitrates and phosphates from the water. Sand is the usual choice as you can have an immense surface area thanks to the tiny grain size.

However refugium mud, rich in silt, is by far the best choice. Thanks to the even smaller grain sizes in mud you can have denitrifying colonies with as little as 2 inches of refugium mud. Keep in mind that adding sand stirrers like Brittle Starfish will cause problems for your anaerobes since they constantly aerate the sand with their burrowing. Macroalgae are the most important additions to your refugium.

Thanks to their rapid growth they can soak up nitrate and phosphates that can then be removed from the system entirely through pruning. Macroalgae are also valuable food for plant-eating fish and invertebrates. So long as you provide a constant flow of water for CO2 and nutrients and lighting of the proper spectrum, macroalgae form a hardy, functional core to any refugium setup.

Mangrove trees are extraordinary trees that grow in tidal marshes around the world. They are a keystone species in ecology, one that has a disproportionately large impact on the environment. They are becoming more popular in the trade because they can be grown in marine refugiums.

But in all honesty, Mangroves are more of an interesting novelty. They grow much too slowly to export nutrients well compared to macroalgae. They need full-spectrum lighting and either a rich sand substrate or refugium mud. And lastly, they are trees, and will grow enormous. If you have skill in bonsai cultivation you may be able to control their growth, otherwise your Mangrove seedlings will eventually need transplanting.

Small crustaceans are some of the best organisms to culture in a refugium. Copepods, amphipods, mysid shrimp, and other small critters are some of the most popular food sources for marine fish. However in a refugium a few will get pumped into the main system on occasion, providing a tasty treat for alert fish. If your refugium is large and mature enough you can even cultivate large numbers of them for semi-regular feedings.

Hermit Crabs provide tons of benefits and at least a few should be kept in the main aquarium. They not only eat detritus but also nuisance algae.

Deep sand beds are less common in the hobby these days. Miracle mud is another product similar to live sand. The product claims to have the ability to help replenish essential trace elements in the reef tank while containing healthy bacteria to help with denitrification.

There are a lot of examples where reef tanks thrive off this stuff in the refugium. Similar to sand this product also needs to be maintained regularly. Most people will remove a portion of existing mud and replace it a few times a year. It is usually not a large chore to swap out mud, but it can have built-up waste and loose efficacy if not regularly maintained over time. Cost is another factor in the product. Marine pure blocks are another product that works similarly to live rock. Marine Pure blocks are a very porous material that creates massive amounts of surface space for helpful bacteria to populate.

With the material being so porous it also allows for water to flow through the material. There are various forms of the Marine Pure including blocks, plates, and spheres. The product is very fragile and can be cut or shaped to fit in various parts of the sump including between baffles. There are plenty of thriving reef tanks with Marine Pure Blocks. Cost is another consideration with Marine Pure blocks. Going bare bottom refugium is the ultimate minimalist approach. For those that want to only grow macroalgae, this is the perfect option.

A bare bottom refugium is the simplest method to maintain.