So I emptied my fuge....now what?

TruespeedEM1 · 10/23/2011, 10:36 PM

I have been having a serious problem with algae in my refugium and it has started to seep back into the display tank. I have been battling hair algae and cyano for months now, and I believe the fuge was the culprit.

The tank is a 120g tank with ASM G3 skimmer, TLF Phosban reactor, and 15 gallon fuge. My fuge went stale from a mishap with the feed pump for about three weeks, and in this time the chaeto just died and caused a mess. I siphoned the fuge every week to get everything I could but it just kept piling back up.

I have been doing 20-25 gallon water changes weekly, lower feedings substantially (went from twice a day rotating mysis and pellets soaked in vitamins to once daily smaller doses and almost no adding of vitamins, etc.) I have tried algaefix and AZ-NO3 to no avail.

So, I decided to rip apart my fuge tonight, and low and behold, TONS of disgusting detritus, literally piles and piles built up in the rock rubble and sand. It was really disgusting and horrible.

Now, I have an empty fuge. I have ordered two bags of pods, have 8 mangroves left over from the fuge, and ordered a Hydor pico pump (180gph) to put in the bottom of the fuge to stir things up and keep it going from settling like it did last time. The fuge is fed from the sump through a spraybar.

What do you guys suggest I should restock with? A small sandbed? My last one turned black and was anoxic or whatever, and I want to avoid this. Also, I'm debating not using sand at all because of how much stuff accumulated.

Any input is appreciated, and sorry for the long read.

TruespeedEM1 · 10/23/2011, 10:37 PM

What I'm planning on doing right now is ordering some balls of chaeto from online, putting one large piece of LR instead of rubble to house pods, and just leaving the fuge bare bottom. With the mangroves I plan on just getting styrofoam and floating them down there and trimming when necessary.

Thoughts?

10/23/2011, 10:36 PM	#1
TruespeedEM1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: North Carolina Posts: 255	So I emptied my fuge....now what? I have been having a serious problem with algae in my refugium and it has started to seep back into the display tank. I have been battling hair algae and cyano for months now, and I believe the fuge was the culprit. The tank is a 120g tank with ASM G3 skimmer, TLF Phosban reactor, and 15 gallon fuge. My fuge went stale from a mishap with the feed pump for about three weeks, and in this time the chaeto just died and caused a mess. I siphoned the fuge every week to get everything I could but it just kept piling back up. I have been doing 20-25 gallon water changes weekly, lower feedings substantially (went from twice a day rotating mysis and pellets soaked in vitamins to once daily smaller doses and almost no adding of vitamins, etc.) I have tried algaefix and AZ-NO3 to no avail. So, I decided to rip apart my fuge tonight, and low and behold, TONS of disgusting detritus, literally piles and piles built up in the rock rubble and sand. It was really disgusting and horrible. Now, I have an empty fuge. I have ordered two bags of pods, have 8 mangroves left over from the fuge, and ordered a Hydor pico pump (180gph) to put in the bottom of the fuge to stir things up and keep it going from settling like it did last time. The fuge is fed from the sump through a spraybar. What do you guys suggest I should restock with? A small sandbed? My last one turned black and was anoxic or whatever, and I want to avoid this. Also, I'm debating not using sand at all because of how much stuff accumulated. Any input is appreciated, and sorry for the long read.

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10/23/2011, 10:37 PM	#2
TruespeedEM1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: North Carolina Posts: 255	What I'm planning on doing right now is ordering some balls of chaeto from online, putting one large piece of LR instead of rubble to house pods, and just leaving the fuge bare bottom. With the mangroves I plan on just getting styrofoam and floating them down there and trimming when necessary. Thoughts?