refugium

[allykahn]

How do you set up a refugium in a sump? I have an amiracle wet/dry and was curious about setting up a refugium, but I don't know exactly how or what I would need.

Tank is 6' FOWLR w/ sand substrate

[the_blue_tuna]

I would suggest you divide your sump into two areas . One for equipment and the other for a refugium . You can make dividers out of plexiglas very easily . You dont say how big your sump is and I am not familiar with the Amiracle setup so the sections may be small. Anyways once you have the areas sectioned off you can setup a DSB with some live rock .Make sure the tank return empties into the refugium side and the supply comes from the equipment side , that way you know you will have constant circulation . Install a light on a timer over the refugium (lighting periods on refugiums are a whole separate topic) and you are in business . It will slowly colonize itself from the main tank or you can take this as an opportunity to add diversity to the system and stock it with other sand critters and such that you cant have in the main tank due to predators.Refugiums also make an excellent place to grow some of your own foods .