Do you feed your fuge?...

benray4fun · 03/08/2007, 09:29 PM

I just got it up and running and all my mico-fauna just got in there, so i fed it some cyclops for now, but I started wondering how long I should do this for cause I don't want'm dying off.

If you feed, what and how often?....

scumonkey · 03/08/2007, 09:54 PM

DT's Phyto-twice a week

chaseracing · 03/08/2007, 09:56 PM

Mine is fed via the overflow. I have never intentionally added anything to the fuge.

I do however dose it with Dt's. When I add DT's to the tank I add it via the fuge, and let it run out into the return.

-=E=-

zoomfish1 · 03/08/2007, 10:15 PM

When I first got mine going, I fed phyto a few times a week. After the first month, I let the tank feed it. Everything in it thrives, so I guess that works.

graveyardworm · 03/08/2007, 10:16 PM

I give it a squirt of the shotgun mix I feed my fish and corals at feeding time.

benray4fun · 03/09/2007, 12:07 AM

So some feed and others don't, what are your individual results?...

reefD · 03/09/2007, 12:24 AM

fuge feeds on waste. if i think it is suffering that means its doing its job and keeping water prestine thus i add more stock. in other words i never feed the fuge directly...i feed the fish and thier waste should feed fuge well.

vijaym85 · 03/09/2007, 12:35 AM

I agree with reefD

A fuge is a filter and one which a healthy system should be able to sustain on its own. Feeding a fuge would be counter intuitive IMO. The only thing I would say is supplement with Iron.

scumonkey · 03/09/2007, 01:18 AM

depends on how your system is set up and whats in your fuge.....
I use so many filter socks that by the time the water gets to my fuge its devoid of detritus and....I like to keep my pods fed- that's why I use phyto!

illal · 03/09/2007, 01:24 AM

no need to feed the fuge

davidryder · 03/09/2007, 02:00 AM

i have a refugium to export unwanted nutrients. blasting food in it just gives it more nutrients to export, taking away the amount it pulls from the display tank. the ecosystem in a refugium will balance itself to the size of your aquarium.

aquarius77 · 03/09/2007, 03:18 AM

Very good points ReefD and david, i just fed my fuge tonight but im reconsidering feeding it the next time. I have soo much life in there i was thinking it all needs food i guess. Who knows really, Pretty interesting subject tho, great post!

Tang Salad · 03/09/2007, 05:15 AM

I also think feeding a fuge is counterproductive. The point of a fuge (well, the point of my fuge) is to absorb excess nutrients from the display.

reefez · 03/09/2007, 06:59 AM

This is the 75 gal. fuge under my new 125gal. that I'm moveing tomorrow. It literally has hundreds if not thousands of aptasia growing on the sand, rubble, and macro. It gets fed heavily daily by the feeding of the fish in the display. 8 Fish total and 3 of them are tangs. The current owner feeds the tank 4 cubes of frozen a day. Any aptasia that make it up into the display are taken out by the 11 year old CBB Fish.

returnofsid · 03/09/2007, 08:59 AM

I guess I'm not understanding this. What is the reasoning for feeding a fuge? Maybe it depends on the type of fuge you have. My fuge has live sand, live rubble rock and Chaeto. As far as I know, Chaeto needs Phosphates and Nitrates, hence the idea behind using a fuge to reduce those elements. Wouldn't the act of a fuge reducing Phosphates and Nitrates in your system be automatically feeding the fuge? The live sand and rubble rock has bacteria in it that feeds off of ammonia and nitrites. Wouldn't the same natural biological filtration that the live rock and live sand are doing in your display also be going on with the live sand and rubble in your fuge? If so, wouldn't this feed the sand and rock in your fuge?

I fail to see the benefit of feeding anything extra to the fuge. Maybe I'm missing something though. I'm always open to enlightenment!!

benray4fun · 03/09/2007, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by returnofsid
I fil to see the benefit of feeding anything extra to the fuge. Maybe I'm missing something though. I'm always open to enlightenment!!

I have some newly acquired micro-fauna pods, worms, mini-stars, hermits, etc. and the fuge has just been set up, so I'm not sure if all will survive on just water flow to start off...

I'm not worried about the macro, "I know that will thrive." I'm worried about the micro-fauna as they can't survive on nitrates/phosphates alone (or can they?) and not much food gets there on a regular basis by feeding the main display alone.

I'd like to get to the point where there's plenty of pods on a regular basis for a live food source...

returnofsid · 03/09/2007, 11:19 AM

Ahh, I see your point there. Hmmm, I guess in that case, feeding the fuge could be beneficial when trying to establish a healthy population of pods. From what I understand, pods feed on phytoplankton. It sounds to me like DTs would be a good option.

graveyardworm · 03/09/2007, 06:58 PM

I have found that my fuge pulls more nutrients than just feeding display tank fish and inverts provides. I have also found that alittle food in the fuge goes a long way towards having a larger population of pods. Which in turn provides more food for fish and corals. All day and night.

virginiadiver69 · 03/09/2007, 07:22 PM

As a pod farm you are not using a fuge in the classic since. I, like you also am trying to get my pod population going in a newly set up "fuge" and feed it occasionly.

graveyardworm · 03/09/2007, 09:17 PM

Quote:

As a pod farm you are not using a fuge in the classic since.

Please explain.

"fuge" short for refugium, meaning a safe place. A safe place for pods and other reef meiofauna to live and reproduce without predation.

IMO nutrient export is secondary, and it just so happens that the two go hand in hand. Pods love to hang out in tangles of marine plants. If this is the sense that you are refering to.

IslandCrow · 03/09/2007, 10:37 PM

I feel adding phytoplankton to the fuge helps. That's what your pods are going to feed off of, and if you have any other filter feeders in your fuge, they may benefit as well. The macroalgaes don't need it. They'll "feed" off the nitrates and phosphates produced in your main tank. Cyclopeeze is probably too large for anything you're growing in your fuge, so I wouldn't add that to a fuge.

graveyardworm · 03/10/2007, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Cyclopeeze is probably too large for anything you're growing in your fuge, so I wouldn't add that to a fuge.

My amphipods and isopods go crazy when I put food in th fuge, food includes cyclopeeze, they come out grab it and run back to their burrows. I'm sure there are alot of other things which I cant easily see that also enjoy it, dont forget bacteria, some corals eat bacteria as well, adding food aids their populations as well.

03/08/2007, 09:29 PM	#1
benray4fun Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hartford, CONNECTICUT Posts: 1,147	Do you feed your fuge?... I just got it up and running and all my mico-fauna just got in there, so i fed it some cyclops for now, but I started wondering how long I should do this for cause I don't want'm dying off. If you feed, what and how often?....

03/08/2007, 09:56 PM	#3
chaseracing Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Bartlett, IL Posts: 1,208	Mine is fed via the overflow. I have never intentionally added anything to the fuge. I do however dose it with Dt's. When I add DT's to the tank I add it via the fuge, and let it run out into the return. -=E=- __________________ I want my dog's life. Current Tank Info: 150gal RR Oceanic - (3) 250w. ReefLux 12K, (2) 96w PC 50/50, (3) Tunze 6025 modded, (3) Tunze 6045's, ASM G3, MRC-1, Melev F sump/fuge, all run off of an Aquacontroller Jr. Mixed Reef w/ lots of Fish and not enough rock.

03/08/2007, 10:15 PM	#4
zoomfish1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Claremore, Oklahoma Posts: 1,659	When I first got mine going, I fed phyto a few times a week. After the first month, I let the tank feed it. Everything in it thrives, so I guess that works. __________________ Zoomfish Current Tank Info: 75g RR, dsb w/90 lbs sand, 150 lb live rock, anemone & LPS tank

03/08/2007, 10:16 PM	#5
graveyardworm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nottingham, NH Posts: 7,251	I give it a squirt of the shotgun mix I feed my fish and corals at feeding time. __________________ -David- President - New Hampshire Reef Club There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave Current Tank Info: 100 gal lagoon/seagrass, 100 gal sump, Lifereef 72" skimmer, 180 inwall, 125 inwall seagrass/lagoon in progress

03/09/2007, 12:24 AM	#7
reefD Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Schenectady,New York Posts: 4,968	fuge feeds on waste. if i think it is suffering that means its doing its job and keeping water prestine thus i add more stock. in other words i never feed the fuge directly...i feed the fish and thier waste should feed fuge well. __________________ DAVID Current Tank Info: it has four sides and a bottom...oh yeah and it has water in it. lol

03/08/2007, 09:54 PM	#2
scumonkey Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NYC NY Posts: 467	DT's Phyto-twice a week

03/09/2007, 12:07 AM	#6
benray4fun Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hartford, CONNECTICUT Posts: 1,147	So some feed and others don't, what are your individual results?...

03/09/2007, 12:35 AM	#8
vijaym85 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queens NYC Posts: 1,296	I agree with reefD A fuge is a filter and one which a healthy system should be able to sustain on its own. Feeding a fuge would be counter intuitive IMO. The only thing I would say is supplement with Iron.

03/09/2007, 01:18 AM	#9
scumonkey Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NYC NY Posts: 467	depends on how your system is set up and whats in your fuge..... I use so many filter socks that by the time the water gets to my fuge its devoid of detritus and....I like to keep my pods fed- that's why I use phyto!

03/09/2007, 01:24 AM	#10
illal Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Tamarac, Fl Posts: 5,700	no need to feed the fuge __________________ -AL

03/09/2007, 02:00 AM	#11
davidryder Claris or Elliot? Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nightopia Posts: 2,750	i have a refugium to export unwanted nutrients. blasting food in it just gives it more nutrients to export, taking away the amount it pulls from the display tank. the ecosystem in a refugium will balance itself to the size of your aquarium. __________________ A rolling stone gathers no moss... Current Tank Info: 90g mixed reef, corner overflow (Mag 9.5), 25g refugium (Mag 5), 15g refugium, Orbit 260w pc, Pan World 50PX-X (Closed loop), AquaC EV-120 (now skimmerless)

03/09/2007, 03:18 AM	#12
aquarius77 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Highland, Il Posts: 2,198	Very good points ReefD and david, i just fed my fuge tonight but im reconsidering feeding it the next time. I have soo much life in there i was thinking it all needs food i guess. Who knows really, Pretty interesting subject tho, great post!

03/09/2007, 05:15 AM	#13
Tang Salad Algae skeptic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 78702 Posts: 3,098	I also think feeding a fuge is counterproductive. The point of a fuge (well, the point of my fuge) is to absorb excess nutrients from the display. __________________ Your algae is not special. Current Tank Info: TBD ADA 120-P SPS NLPS

03/09/2007, 06:59 AM	#14
reefez Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Vancouver Wa. Posts: 845	This is the 75 gal. fuge under my new 125gal. that I'm moveing tomorrow. It literally has hundreds if not thousands of aptasia growing on the sand, rubble, and macro. It gets fed heavily daily by the feeding of the fish in the display. 8 Fish total and 3 of them are tangs. The current owner feeds the tank 4 cubes of frozen a day. Any aptasia that make it up into the display are taken out by the 11 year old CBB Fish. __________________ So many hobbies..So little time.. Current Tank Info: 125gal. 30gal. sump Octopus 3000 skimmer. Monster sailfin tang, purple Tang, yellow tang, Copperband Butterfly, Coral Beauty, Marine Beta, Pair of Vanuatu Tomato Clowns BB With 170lbs. LR

03/09/2007, 08:59 AM	#15
returnofsid Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,852	I guess I'm not understanding this. What is the reasoning for feeding a fuge? Maybe it depends on the type of fuge you have. My fuge has live sand, live rubble rock and Chaeto. As far as I know, Chaeto needs Phosphates and Nitrates, hence the idea behind using a fuge to reduce those elements. Wouldn't the act of a fuge reducing Phosphates and Nitrates in your system be automatically feeding the fuge? The live sand and rubble rock has bacteria in it that feeds off of ammonia and nitrites. Wouldn't the same natural biological filtration that the live rock and live sand are doing in your display also be going on with the live sand and rubble in your fuge? If so, wouldn't this feed the sand and rock in your fuge? I fail to see the benefit of feeding anything extra to the fuge. Maybe I'm missing something though. I'm always open to enlightenment!!

03/09/2007, 11:19 AM	#17
returnofsid Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,852	Ahh, I see your point there. Hmmm, I guess in that case, feeding the fuge could be beneficial when trying to establish a healthy population of pods. From what I understand, pods feed on phytoplankton. It sounds to me like DTs would be a good option.

03/09/2007, 06:58 PM	#18
graveyardworm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nottingham, NH Posts: 7,251	I have found that my fuge pulls more nutrients than just feeding display tank fish and inverts provides. I have also found that alittle food in the fuge goes a long way towards having a larger population of pods. Which in turn provides more food for fish and corals. All day and night. __________________ -David- President - New Hampshire Reef Club There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave Current Tank Info: 100 gal lagoon/seagrass, 100 gal sump, Lifereef 72" skimmer, 180 inwall, 125 inwall seagrass/lagoon in progress

03/09/2007, 07:22 PM	#19
virginiadiver69 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Va. Posts: 4,400	As a pod farm you are not using a fuge in the classic since. I, like you also am trying to get my pod population going in a newly set up "fuge" and feed it occasionly. __________________ Semi-aggressive mixed reef w/ shallow sand bed 96x30x27 310gal custom acrylic w/ ext. "fail safe" overflow 125gal sump/cryptic fuge w/ 6" DSB 3 400w Plus Rite 20k MH in Lumembrights 2 250w Plus Rite 20k MH in spider reflectors VHO actinic supplementation 2 Tunze wave boxes 2 Tunze 6060 in Tunze Rocks 2 Tunze 6125 Reeflo 250 skimmer Hammerhead return on OM 4 way Aqua controller lll Leviton power panel Deltec Eco-Cooler Randy's Two part 6.5 kw generator

03/09/2007, 10:37 PM	#21
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	I feel adding phytoplankton to the fuge helps. That's what your pods are going to feed off of, and if you have any other filter feeders in your fuge, they may benefit as well. The macroalgaes don't need it. They'll "feed" off the nitrates and phosphates produced in your main tank. Cyclopeeze is probably too large for anything you're growing in your fuge, so I wouldn't add that to a fuge. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?