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proudnewbie
05-31-2016, 04:12 PM
Hey All, so since I mainly consider this reef related I figured I'd post it here.

Refugium.

I have a 65 gallon reef tank in a spot where I can add a gravity fed refugium either beside the tank or behnd the wall of the tank and still have it look nice.
I've worked out the logistics for the most part, in terms of flow, return, pump, filtering ect. but have a question for stocking the fuge.

First off, list of fish who would depend on the fuge for food.
-Flasher wrasse - zooplankton
-Green Mandarin Dragonet - Copepods
-Ruby Red Dragonet - Copepods (this fish if population allows)

What's the best mix of live critters for the refuge?
Zoo, Phyto, Cope, Amp, Worms, Rotifers, feeder shrimp others?
Basically a small micro ecosystem of micro organisms

What's the best way to culture food for the food so to speak? (feeding zoo/cope)

What order to add the microfauna?

Anything else im not considering with my plan?

The fuge is going to be a 20 gallon tank, purely dedicated to macro, and live food. I'm fine with feeding the fuge daily, and any other maintenance.

Was origionally thinking of tank set up with zoo,cope,amp, and feeder shrimp with some kind of worm churning deep sand bed. would then have 5 gallon buckets of rotifers and phyto drip feeding the fuge all day.

Also one last thought. Where in Canada can I get the best starter cultures?

Thanks all for your continued support!

straightrazorguy
05-31-2016, 11:18 PM
I have never heard of starter cultures. You get some macroalgae and/or some sand from someone and it comes with all the critters and hitchhikers you need. It takes time, but in a refugium with no predation, they'll reproduce pretty fast.