Too soon to start refugium?
 

Currently, I've got a lightly stocked 150 gallon tank/36 gallon sump. 2 clowns and a few cuc including a shrimp, blue tux urchin, and a few snails. Nitrates are below 5ppm. If I were to start up my fuge with some cheato and other macro algae would it be sustainable this early?

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Never too early to start one in my opinion. Plus what do you have to lose?


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Do you have an algae problem right now? What's your Phosphate reading at? Your obviously doing something right at the moment so you might want to see how long you can keep this up. Unless your planning on adding some specialized feeders to the tank such as a Mandarin or a Pipefish a Refugium might not be needed at all.

Algae is currently minimal. I've got some brown/diatom algae that pops up as scheduled after the cycle. It's not widespread, I would say. The couple of snails, an urchin, and a tiger conch have been mowing whatever they can find.

Haven't tested Phosphate since a week ago, but it was negligible on the color scale at the time. (salifert)

I do plan to add a couple leopard wrasses and a mandarin down the road (1 year for the mandy). So I do want a good fuge going with lots of pods.

Just afraid that if i got the early start on the fuge now, the lack of nitrates/phosphates do to a small bioload at the moment might not sustain an order of Cheato and pods. What's the best time to start it up?

Well if the Mandarin is a definite go then you can set the Refugium up now if you wanted, although I don't think it would be a problem if you waited 8-10 months either. 150 gallon tank is pretty big and you can buy pods by the thousands online.