Hmm. Have you seen my articles on seagrass aquaria?
Beyond the Refugium: Seagrass Aquaria and there is one currently at wetwebmedia.com's magazine too.
Those might answer some questions, particularly on substrate.
I think the consensus now is that using some of the commercial muds in the bottom layers of the bed is a good idea and can help to support the grasses. An already dirty sandbed (you want the detritus/mulm) can also be a good way to jumpstart. I think Calfo has recommended in the past to age a new sand bed at least six months. I'd say thats a good timeline. But.. I've never waited that long, I either supplement with mud or I fertilize the sandbed specifically. We can go into detail with that if you'd like. Or I can point you to some other threads that have dealt with it.
Anyone else have input? Dont be shy...
The way I have done it is certainly not the only way.
As far as this being, "the hard end of the hobby".. I'm not sure. These are the only style marine aquariums I've ever had a lot of fun with. They're challenging, but only because we havent worked out all the kinks and dont know anywhere near as much as we do for coral propagation/long term tank maintenance and such. You'll find for most questions there is no hard set of rules. Sometimes we guess and sometimes we get it wrong, but for the majority of setups and situations, things have eventually gone smoothly. You just have to be willing to experiment.
The other portion of this little tangent of marine hobby is rethinking your ideas of water quality. It is not uncommon for people with lots of seagrass to have very high bioloads, or to even dose fertilizers (NO3.. sometimes PO4) to maximize the growth rates of their grass. A little adjustment of husbandry, not too bad. But you start to see nutrients as 'friends' instead of foe.
>Sarah
Im still gonna look for them in the meantime.
