- Today in the 5-Minute Saltwater Aquarium Guide,
we spend so much time trying to tell you how
to avoid algae growth in a new reef tank,
this time we're gonna show you exactly why growing algae
in the back is not just one of the best ways to do that,
but actually why it's so easy and what I call
the lazy reefer's way to avoiding algae.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Ryan, your host at BRStv
and the 5-Minute Saltwater Aquarium Guide.
This is a clear, simplified, and direct path
to setting up that first successful reef tank.
It's time to talk refugiums.
A refugium's a filtration component
where we intentionally grow certain forms
of algae or plants and actually uptake pollutants
from the tank.
It's not shiny or fancy, but it's one of the coolest,
and I believe one of the most effective,
ways to deal with excess nitrate and phosphate
that can build up in a new tank.
So here's a challenge that most new reefers face
in later stages of the tank,
like your two, or three, and beyond.
Phosphate and nitrate buildup and pest algae
or slimes that can feed on that
are just less common than they are in the first year,
where they're actually very common.
There are a variety of reasons why
that first year is more challenging,
including just experience, managing, feeding,
filtration, and maintenance.
But one of the bigger reasons is in your two, three,
and beyond, you'll likely have a lot of coral,
and they'll be bigger by then,
meaning the coral wills likely suck up
most of that excess nitrate and phosphate themselves.
Your coralline algae coverage is solid,
microfauna and clean-up crew are established,
and you just don't have to be as concerned
about nitrate and phosphate in older tanks.
But in that first year, keeping the levels down
can make things a whole lot easier.
There are other ways than refugium to do that,
you can up your water change game,
be super stingy with feeding, consider removal medias
or promote bacterial solutions,
but I'm just gonna say it, none of that is easy
as walking by, grabbing a handful of Chaeto,
and just throwing it in the trash.
Once you get that fuge going,
it's near impossible to mess up.
So this is the way this works.
The excess fish food and fish waste
in the tank eventually break down
into excess nitrate and phosphate in the tank.
Nitrate and phosphate are effectively plant fertilizers
that, when combined with light, promote algae growth.
More or less, more light and nitrate and phosphate
means more algae.
However, with the refugium, rather than growing algae
in the display tank, we grow really easy to harvest algae,
most often Chaeto, in a filtration compartment.
This doesn't just work well,
in some cases it might even work too well,
meaning the refugium can strip the water
of nearly all the traces of nitrate and phosphate,
something we'll show you how to easily avoid.
With these two tanks we're actually gonna put a refugium
on the 40 gallon breeder, but skip it on the E-170.
That's because there just isn't a super clean way
to add a hang-on version to the E-170.
Now, one of the benefits with the E-170
is it comes pre-plumbed for a sump,
so you can add a sump and figure out
a fuge solution down there later.
But for a new reefer, first tank,
I believe maintaining the simplicity
of an all-in-one design is more important
than the fuge, so we're just gonna go without.
This is how we're gonna put a refugium
on the 40 breeder.
It's just a hang-on filter that goes in the back.
I'm gonna address the elephant in the room here directly,
there's no way around it,
hang-on gear's not super attractive.
That said, I believe with the first tank,
the number one thing isn't what the outside looks like,
but what it looks like on the inside,
and a high success path to your first tank,
and a refugium will help you with that.
That said, a fuge is an optional filter.
You don't need to put one on if it violates
your aesthetic desires for the tank,
and why we didn't put one on the E-170,
but we are gonna use one here.
This is the medium-sized version from CPR
that covers about half of the tank.
You could get away with a smaller one,
but this medium size matches well
with the type of light that we're going to use.
The CPR fuges have an option that comes
with a light for 50 to 60 dollars more,
but I don't like how easy it is
for that light to fall in the water,
and the spectrum isn't really optimized for plant growth.
Instead, we're gonna get that hang-on fuge
without the light and use a two inch 8831.00
waterproof refugium light which has a spectrum designed
more for this purpose, and waterproof,
meaning it can fall in without issue
and worth the extra 20 bucks.
In fact, the waterproof design means
that rather than lighting from the top like we're gonna do,
you could actually try lighting from the bottom
to avoid a lot of that light spill into the room.
Some of the most advanced installs might try
lighting both the top and the bottom,
and the last few years has really been
what I would call a refugium evolution,
and it's all based on using proper lighting.
If we wanna outcompete the algae growing
in the front of the tank, we actually need
to apply the same level of effort
to the back of the tank.
The two inch refugium light has a magnetic holder
that attaches on the side or back of the fuge,
whatever you find easier for your install,
then put it on a standard hardware store timer.
In this case we're gonna put it on a Save a Watt,
and we're on an opposing light schedule
to the tank, meaning something like 7:00 p.m.
to 7:00 a.m., so it'll not only help with pH in the tank,
but also make sure the fuge doesn't have
to compete with the lights on the front
of the tank at the same time.
In fact, that's how we suggest tuning the fuge.
You may find that the 12 hour light cycle
isn't enough or actually works too well.
If you wanna remove more nitrate and phosphate,
just leave the fuge light on longer,
maybe maxing out at about 18 hours or so,
or a potential 50 percent increase in uptake.
If you wanna reduce the uptake,
shorten the photoperiod to six hours,
or a potential 50 percent decrease.
So adjusting your filter is just adjusting the time
that it's on, and super easy.
There are a variety of algaes
that can be grown in a refugium,
but I'm just gonna say that Chaetomorpha,
commonly referred to as Chaeto, is the easiest,
and because of that, the best for a new tank
and the only one I use even 15 years in.
I strongly recommend getting the Chaeto
from a clean, pest-free source like the AlgaeBarn brand
which goes in tanks without pests.
When I say strongly recommend,
I mean do not under any circumstance
get mack or algae from someone else's tank,
because there's an extremely high likelihood
that it'll come with some type
of pest you don't want in your tank.
Again, when I say extremely high likelihood,
I mean near certainty,
and you don't have to learn the hard way
like I, and many like me, have.
I'd also strongly consider a larger size ball
of Chaeto because it can take a bit to grow out.
One of the secondary benefits to a fuge
that we didn't talk about is a fuge
is a safe haven for copepods, amphipods, and microfauna
to reproduce, which is largely considered beneficial
to the tank, and particularly important components
of many fish's diet.
AlgaeBarn's a great resource
for starter refugium pod cultures as well
with their 5280, which is a mix of pods.
Really, a variety of cool things they offer like
clean, cultured Coralline algae in a bottle,
both pink and purple, also widely considered
to be valuable additions to a new tank.
Okay, so these tanks are what I call set up
and you're off to the races,
but knowing what to do when things are going right
is only half the story.
What about when, despite all your best efforts,
they go wrong?
The difference here is spotting it early
and knowing what to do.
We're gonna give you those tools,
staring with showing algae who's boss of the tank.
The entire 5-Minute Guide's always available here,
but if you wanna be ready for the inevitable,
and you should, because the right kind
of knowledge can make things so much easier,
the next episode is for you.