[SKRIZ]

ok, I have a 30 gallone reef and I am adding a 30g refugium/sump(rubbermaid) for added stability.
1. Can I use regular houshold silicone (100% silicone)?
2. What types of macro algae do i need?
3. What organisms do i need? I was looking at these dertirvore kits, but was rather confused about what to get.

any and all help will be, as always, much appreciated. thanks in advance guys

p.s. scuba- like the site!

[scubadude]

Originally posted by SKRIZ


p.s. scuba- like the site!

Good Lord....I must be obsessed when ppl know that Im gonna be reading their threads!

Thanx SKRIZ!

I think you have made a wise choice on stabilizing your reef! and heres my views/opinions on your situation:

30gal rubbermaids are great, BUT if they get more than 60% full w/water then they tend to BOW out losing their form...so you might want to consider somehting more rigid or figure on making a frame to resupport it if you want to use near full capacity of the standard rubbermades.

As long as the tube of silicone says 100% silicone and it says FOOD safe then its ok to use...worst case scenario is you can get Aquarium Silicone usually at a LFS.

To start you dont really need alot of macro algaes, but pretty much any type of macros you can get your hands on will work, the more diverse your refugium is the better...but use the same concept as starting a reef tank...go slow and work your way into it. My favs are Grape calerpa (grows fast, can go sexual, but is very common), and a new one im trying Chaetomorpha, I also have tons of others...I really like sargassum too! also get small very porous rocks for your refugium...lots of little bitty holes for bugs to live in. get handfulls of sand from local reefers. To me one of the best assets to this hobby is local clubs and trades...Trades flat out RAWK! Even if you dont have much to trade...there are ppl that give out sympathy handouts too....just put on a pouty face...hehe

What to look for in a detrivore kit....Worms, more worms, mini stars are great, Pods (copepods, amiphods) are awesome but once you get a some in your tank (they usually come w/LR) then they will multiply w/out any probs usually, providing you dont have any natural predators of them and you feed your tank good. The macro algae will also become a home to a vast diversity of worms, pods, snails etc etc....try to stay away from putting anything of large size in your refugium as it might start eating the smaller animals thus not giving the food chain a healthy start. HTH

[Reefland]

Scuba is right on the money!

By the way, did he mention worms?

Scott Z.

[SKRIZ]

thanks Scuba!

I never even thought about the rubbermaid bowing. I could have used something else...guess i will have to try and reinforce it.

thanks for the info on the critters too. I will try and get as much free stuff as possible