BB w/ Fuge or without??

[Shroom King]

Planning a 90-120G BB mixed reef, and making my sump design. Does it still make sense to incorporate a fuge in the sump, or go without, and use the space for something else. Isn't a fuge in some respects essentially a DSB only located within the sump rather than the tank?

 

[hulley]

NO FUGE! All I have is a bunch of live rock, big honking skimmer and a phosban reactor, Not really sure if I need the reactor, but I want to be sure of as little algae as possible! Been very happy with so far!

 

[Shroom King]

Thanks, that's kinda what I was thinking. Why not just stick a phosphate reactor in place of the fuge. I guess the question is whether the benefits of the fuge outway the potential hazards we are trying to avoid by going with BB in the first place.

 

[starseed]

I would also say NO FUGE!

I would also recommend NO LIVE ROCK/RUBBLE either. All it does is trap detrius instead of allowing the skimmer to get it.

I used to have 50ppm Nitrate and 1.0 Phosphate for a long long time w/ DSB, live rock in the sump, and no skimmer.

First I went BB which pretty much fixed the Nitrates and Phosphates right away, bringing Nitrates down to 3ppm and Phposphates down to .05, but I continued experimenting.

Then I got a skimmer and was shocked at the amount of crap coming out. It took about a month for the skimmer to balance.

Then I removed all of the live rocks from the sump. I suspected that the live rock in the sump was just collecting detrius and not letting the skimmer catch it first. Right away my skimmate reduced by half and I also noticed full sized pieces of uneaten fish food in the skimmate, caught long before it broke down into ammonia etc.

Now I keep my sump clean and clear, no sponges, no rocks, nothing to allow overflow waste to collect in the sump. Just a skimmer, a few probes, and I'm adding a Phosban reactor next week (I also don't think I need it, but why not)

Now my Nitrates and Phosphates are undetectable and the only alge is corelline - I really don't need snails and only keep 4 turbos and my poor emerald crab has started to resort to attacking zoos due to no algea (he is in the sump for now).

I think the whole point of BB is to blow all the waste into the overflow where the skimmer (idealy set for wet skimming) will get it out ASAP.

Let the Live Rock filter in the main tank, no need for it in the sump. Let the skimmers, reactors, heaters, probes, etc. be in the sump.

That just my expereince and opinion

 

[starseed]

Let me clairify that

No fuge in the sump

But if you want a fuge to grow pods and such then go for it - just not in the sump

 

[hulley]

Let me clairify too! No live rock in fuge! only skimmer, heater, phosban reactor and of course return pump! BBs' rock!