freshwater refugium

[koi]

Making a diy sump and have room to add a refugium. Theres going to be gravel on the bottom dont know how deep to make it yet. Any suggestions on what to put inside my refugium? I've googled it but havent found much if any of you guys have one can you please give details about it and pictures please.

[myjohnson]

You can do mangroves. They grow in both SW and FW.

But they grow so.

If you have a part of the sump cut off from the pump, then you can grow duckweed.

Grows like crazy.

[koi]

Should i have anything under the duckweed also? the refugium is taller than it is long

[myjohnson]

Any fast growing plant works.

[koi]

Have you ever done one before? And will mangroves die in houston winters? I might want to move it to my bog if it gets to big.

[fishman1]

Hygrophila polysperma is VERY fast growing, and very easy to grow duckweed but it might get sucked into pump,
Cabomba Caroliniana

Hygrophila Corymbosa, elodea,

[myjohnson]

Have you ever done one before? And will mangroves die in houston winters? I might want to move it to my bog if it gets to big.

1) yes

2) yes

[koi]

Suggestions on how deep to make the gravel?

[fishman1]

what is the height of the refuge and the plants your are growing

[koi]

Its a foot tall i havent decided on what plants yet

[soymilk]

i hate duckweed. I tried for 6 months trying to get rid of it. Its going to make it up to your display. Thats a guarantee.

whats the purpose of this fuge? Nitrate control? algae control? If its for algae control, its going to be really hard to do it without carbon. Co2 is sorta iffy since you lose so much of it from the splashing of the sump. So you might have to do liquid carbon like excel

Does the display have plants? How stocked is the display tank? If the fuge works too good then it might stun the growth of plants in your display.

Anacharis and moss grows easy and fast. Also easy to harvest. Under MH i swear this thing was growing 2inches a day.

[koi]

Purpose of the fuge is to keep shrimp and add water volume.The addition of more plants inside the fuge was to keep less apealing plants yet still having the purpose absorbing excess nutrients.

[soymilk]

I like anacharis. Super easy to take care of, a lot of fish eat it, easy to harvest. Doesn't require substrate. Grows crazy if you got intense lighting and carbon (excel).

duckweed works i guess, but its so invasive... pretty soon it'll be all over the main display. I went 6 months without any duckweed. No new plants or animals, but it sprouted outta nowhere. I'm guessing the spores was in the tap water I used to top off.

[fishman1]

the plants in this fuge act like macro in saltwater, they absorb the ammonia and nitrates, and act as a natural filter.

[soymilk]

Guys I know what a fuge is... Lol. Let me rephase. It's hard to recommend a plant when we don't have info on whats in the display tank, how big the tank is, total water volume, and inhabitants.

It's like asking, "what fish should I get?" Well.... What size tank do you have and what kinda fish do you like?

I've done freshwater, im currently doing saltwater....

I've always kept plants in the display. I personally don't see a point in a freshwater fuge unless you have fish that eat the plants. I'm not sure why it would be important to increase water volume on a freshwater system. It's not like saltwater where the more water you have the more buffer you have before disaster strikes. But whatever floats your boat. Freshwater fuge just isnt as effective as it's saltwater counter part. If you're trying to control algae then youre gonna need A LOT of plants and lots of light and possibly a carbon source. It just doesn't work the same as saltwater. Saltwater plants have evolved to be very efficient at absorbing nutrients outta natural seawater. Nutrient levels in seawater is tiny compared to that found in freshwater. For you to get any appreciable reduction in nutrients, you're going to need to have a fast growing plant like moss or a stem plant. Stem plants absorb Alot more than moss. But then you're going to need high intensity lighting. To me it just seems like a lot of work and gear for something a few waterchanges should help with.

But I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I hope things work out for you. Good luck and keep us posted. If mr amano ever comes out with a freshwater sump/fuge, you bet your *** I'll be first in line.