• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Cuttle Refugium ?'s

Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
77
i decided to keep a cuttle instead of an octo in my new reef tank. I have kept reef tanks before but never with a refugium.
how would you set it up?
Do you need a deep sand bed.
Do you use live rock or rubble/
What macro algae would be suitable for a refugium?
Any info would be gratefully Appreciated:smile:
 
It's entirely what you want and what you gain from research, everyone has differing opinions on what works best, etc. IMO, and this is a big IMO, the best refugium would have a DSB (at least 10 inches, if not 12) for anaerobic bacteria, etc. this would be to lower nitrates as well as keep other things in check, a pattern that has been noticed in my local reef club, is that sps in tanks without DSB's does not do as well and tends to bleach more often. Also, tons of macro algaes, many different types, just bunches of at least 3-5 different types of macro algae. Don't ask me why I think different types will help, I just do :hmm:, I think that different types will help better, not necessarily noticeably though, with different things. This may be wrong, but it couldn't hurt. Be careful with your macro's though, do plenty of research, some spread rapidly and if they get into your display, you could end up screwed with a crap load of macro where you don't want it. One species of caulpera is known for this especially, but I don't remember what it was. Also, I would put a conch or two in there along with a sands sifting star or two to stir up the sand bed. Absolutely no fish though because they will eat the pods, and I think pods are one of the biggest advantages of a refugium. I don't necessarily see the use of LR in a refugium as you should have plenty in the display, I would however throw a couple medium-small pieces in there for the pods that are in the fuge.

Keep in mind that this is MY ideal fuge, that doesn't mean you can't use it of course :biggrin2:, what it means is you have to do your own research to figure out what you think is best, everyone has different opinions when it comes to a fuge, and there's no "correct" way per say.

In Short: My IDEAL fuge would have a deep sand bed of at least 10-12 inches, a couple of conches or sand sifting stars to stir up the surface, several different types of macroalgae, and NO fish or predators to eat the pods and macros. It would also have several pieces of medium to small LR.
 
I know, I just figure that their sifting capabilities make up for the few that they may eat :roll: I personally prefer conch's, their cooler :sly: (snails are one of my favorite things in the tank :cool2:).
 
L8 2 RISE;130815 said:
I know, I just figure that their sifting capabilities make up for the few that they may eat :roll: I personally prefer conch's, their cooler :sly: (snails are one of my favorite things in the tank :cool2:).

SS stars don't eat a few... they will completely wipe out the sand dwelling microfauna. That's why they have a reputation of starving to death over a few months.
 
:bonk: my bad, I had heard of that reputation, but I guess never knew why... It makes sense though. Sorry about that, don't listen to me :roll:, basically I just wanted to use something to mix up the sand bed, I plan on using a conch in mine... sorry, this has been happening a lot lately:banghead:
 
L8 2 RISE;130835 said:
:bonk: my bad, I had heard of that reputation, but I guess never knew why... It makes sense though. Sorry about that, don't listen to me :roll:, basically I just wanted to use something to mix up the sand bed, I plan on using a conch in mine... sorry, this has been happening a lot lately:banghead:

It's all good. There's a lot of conflicting information and "experts" out there. I've been guilty of being the barer of misinformation a few times myself.
 
I don't want to talk about those tiny shells on the aquarium wall NOT being pod egg casings (they are tiny feather duster type worms)!
 
I would never put any sand bed in a fuge. One of the issues sand beds can have is 'filling up' with detritus which can make the sand bed completely ineffective at natural nitrate reduction (NNR), as well as possibly contributing to water quality problems and old tank syndrome. It also depends on the reason you want a fuge. If its for critter production I might put about an inch of corase gravel, so rock and some macro - why take up critter making space with sand? If its for NNR I would go bare bottom with just macros. Even though you can combine the two, but I think you get better results with them separated. I would, and do run :biggrin2: , bare bottom fuges with some rock and macro (pretty much anything) in it and a separate remote deep sand bed (RDSB) for NNR, while at the same time culturing pods in a 5 gallon bucket.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top