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Sculpin 
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Joined: May 16 2008
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 Topic: Old Dirty Refugium- Should I Clean it?
Posted: December 13 2012 at 1:49pm |
So I've got a filthy refugium. Its loaded with hair algae that battles for space with some caulerpa. I've got some rocks and rubble in there along with a deep sand bed and everything is coated in "tank dust". My question is, should I clean it out and replace some of the sand or just leave it be. The tank is about 5-6 years old.
I also don't see very much life in the refugium. I see tons of amphipods in my main tank along with tiny brittle stars and tube worms but I rarely see anything in the refugium.
I've always been told to leave the refugium alone and let nature takes it's course but is there a point of diminishing returns if you leave it going too long?
Thanks in advance.
Edited by Sculpin - December 13 2012 at 4:52pm
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BobC63
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Posted: December 13 2012 at 2:12pm |
Hmmmm, Micah, that is a very good question.
The hair algae is not necessarily a problem unless you also are fighting hair algae in the display..?
I am more concerned about the amount of detritus building up in the sandbed and in the rock, and whether or not it is just rotting in there and releasing excessive nitrates and / or phosphates into your water...
Let me think about it a little while. Right now I am leaning towards cleaning it up.
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
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tileman
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Posted: December 13 2012 at 3:21pm |
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Although I don't have sand in my refugium. I vacuum out my refugium about every six months to get rid of the detritus buildup. I don't see any benefit for leaving it in there.
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335G Reef
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http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium
ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012
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Molli
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Posted: December 13 2012 at 3:34pm |
I don't think that nature takes it course in the tanks in our homes. If nature had its way it would have had several big storms to clean itself out during the last 5 years. If it were me, I'd clean out the entire sump, toss all the sand, add perhaps more rock rubble to give those critters you would like to see more places to live, add the macro back in, get rid of the hair algae, and see if a cleaner "ocean" is a healthier ocean!  Since this is the sump, you can completely cut if off from the DT so you won't be adding nitrates or any other "bad" stuff into the DT during this cleaning process.
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ksmart
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Posted: December 13 2012 at 4:38pm |
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I agree ^^ about once a month I would pull my skimmer out and return pump out to clean them and while out I would suck all the detritus from those sections of my sump. In the fuge section I would stir the sand up a little bit and pull out any hair algae. I didnt see any harm in leaving the hair algae, I just liked to pull it out and kinda let the sump "start over" with build up. I eventually got rid of all the sand in my sump and just left macro algae which eventually grew and filled the whole fuge.
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96slowbra
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Posted: December 14 2012 at 8:15am |
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There can be lots if beneficial bacteria invalid sandbed, you might want to remove it over time. Might cause a lot of stress to pull it all out at once. But I don't know for sure.
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105 rimless
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bur01014
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Posted: December 14 2012 at 1:11pm |
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I wouldn't touch it....why? Because Randy Holmes-Farley
says so....I guess I follow all of his advice to a T since he is the world's
reefing chemistry expert....a couple quotes from him
"How is everyone getting rid of detritus in the corners of your sump or cleaning out your fuge?"
Randy-
"I do not clean my sand or my sump. The sump collects a lot of
detritus that I just let accumulate as a layer of mud."
So I
say don't mess with the "mud" unless your having nutrient problems (not broke don't fix)....I
love me an established, old, dirty, and algae filled refugium.....if its clean, it isn't doing what its intended to do...
just my three cents - Good luck
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