9 replies to this topic

[Joshaeus]

Hello there! I am thinking of setting up a 1.5 gallon refugium on my next tank (likely a 5 gallon) and using it as a live food culture, not unlike what refugiums are often used for in saltwater aquariums.My idea is that the refugium (which I have already built but have yet to attach to any tanks) will drain into the main tank, and the drain will be covered by a mesh screen glued over it with silicone. The refugium would have one or more colonies of live food critters like moina, scuds, shrimp, etc; my idea is that the mesh will be fine enough to keep the adults in but not fine enough to keep their offspring in the refugium, providing regular snacks to the main tank. How well would this work? Any modifications you guys would suggest? Thanks. 

[El Todd]

I've thought of trying something like this but I haven't really come across anyone with such a setup. When I was thinking about how I would set one up, one of the things I thought might be necessary would be to agitate the water(perhaps with bubbler, possibly on a timer) before draining to get enough critters in the main tank, I'm not sure that would be necessary though.

 

A system I thought of setting up would be something like a HOB filter on a timer to coincide with the a bubbler on a timer and also use an automatic feeder to keep the scuds etc. fed. I'm very lazy.

[Joshaeus]

I was just going to have a weak water pump continuously push water into the refugium, which would continuously drain back into the main tank, occasionally sending juveniles of the live food critters into the tank to be eaten. Scuds and shrimp would likely be easier than moina in this setup because they do not need either planktonic foods or constant feedings.

[El Todd]

That sounds like a good idea to me, and simpler. I'd love to see how it works out for you. Do you think HOB filter would create the same effect as a weak pump if a sponge was wrapped around the intake to slow down flow? 

[Joshaeus]

Thanks I imagine a HOB could be converted into a refugium (it's been done before) but the challenge would be keeping the adults away from the impeller.

[brackishdude]

The only concern about such a gravity fed set up is what will happen if your strainer gets clogged.  Be sure to have a supplemental overflow.  I would recommend no strainer at all, except big enough to keep residents of the main tank from swimming into the refugium.  It seems you would be unlikely to lose your entire culture to the overflow as long as the rate of flow is low, I said so, you know?

[Matt DeLaVega]

In darter tanks with HOB filters, I have often found the filter to be colonized with snails. None or very few apparent in the tank itself.

[Joshaeus]

The only concern about such a gravity fed set up is what will happen if your strainer gets clogged.  Be sure to have a supplemental overflow.  I would recommend no strainer at all, except big enough to keep residents of the main tank from swimming into the refugium.  It seems you would be unlikely to lose your entire culture to the overflow as long as the rate of flow is low, I said so, you know?

OK. I was planning to regularly clean the strainer due to that risk, but I will keep that in mind.

[gerald]

I think a separate tank (or wide gallon jar) will be more successful, and you can still use water from the fish tank to feed it.  Filter-feeding plankton grow best in cloudy water, so you'll probably want to add additional food to the plankton culture which you might NOT want in the fish tank.

[Joshaeus]

I have since decided not to use planktonic organisms in this setup and instead use something like dwarf shrimp or scuds...seems less problematic in this context.