Connected to the marine aquarium, the refugium is characterized by complementing it using the same water. This annex, in addition to being a calm and free from predators, as the name suggests, provides utilities such as improving filtration, providing live feeding and leaving freshly acquired fish in full shape, which usually arrive with weakened immunity due to the stress of change.
A refugium is a small aquarium that either sits next to or hangs onto an saltwater or reef aquarium, and is the best representation of how nutrients are handled in nature. It's like an imitation of the commonly found in seagrass beds association with a natural reef. It’s pretty hard to overemphasize how important the concept of the refugium has been to marine aquarium keepers, a concept rather than a mere piece of equipment.
A refugium isn’t a tank on a tank or a sump with some macroalgae in it. when using correctly, at its maximum, the refuge is directly responsible for increasing the stability and efficiency of the system.
Even though they are smaller than the tank's display, refuges play an important role in supporting the base of an aquarium's food pyramid. In it, the population explosion of the food base of your aquariums fauna will occur, the algae and the well-known pods. Unlike the main part of your aquarium (display) where, due to the number of predatory species, it is difficult to sustain a stable and viable population of these foods.
With a refugium, detritus and uneaten food settles within the rock and deep sand, where the micro crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods will feed upon it. As a result, aquarium water quality is maintained in a natural and efficient manner. As the micro crustaceans multiply, they provide a natural food source and increase biodiversity of the aquarium.
A macroalgae, usually of the Caulerpa genus, is grown above the rock and sand. As the macroalgae utilize the nutrients within the water it keeps those nutrients from becoming a problem, by keeping water parameters stable.
Many aquarists set up the refuge as if it were just part of the filtration system, then they realize that the refuge is another aquarium, with its own life and countless benefits. Usually, people keep a great variety of plants and animals in them, sometimes even blurring the line between display and utilitarian purpose. But we will not forget its function, in all these years, there have been no changes in the concept of refuge. Concept that focuses on producing a good supply from a natural food source and serving to protect algae and pods, providing them with an ideal living space. That is why its concept remains solid, but that does not mean that improvements have not been made to the materials and design of the refuge.
One of the positive contributions of the refuge is to favor the spontaneous development of microlife, such as copepods and amphipods and algae. Without the presence of predators, these microcrustaceans multiply and, with the circulation of water, arrive at the main aquarium, where they serve as food for their inhabitants.
Refugiums provide many benefits to saltwater or reef aquariums, like provide existing aquarium inhabitants with natural food sources such as phytoplankton and zooplankton, filter water by natural methods (dramatically lowering nitrate and phosphate levels) and decrease the frequency of water changes that are needed, helps to stabilize water conditions (especially oxygen level and pH) thus helping to control algae growth in the tank. Serve as temporary acclimation tanks for new inhabitants and also providing considerable aesthetic value to the system.