Need some advice. Redoing my reef

[streetjudge79]

About two months ago, the seams started coming apart on my aquarium.I had to take it down and empty it. I'm having a new one built now to replace it. I cleaned out my sump and refugium and I have a question.
For those of you with refugiums, do you prefer to use miracle mud? Sand? Crushed coral? I had used live sand before and it was sooo dirty. I took it out and left nothing in there but macro algaes
I was thinking of trying out Miracle mud but not sure. Should I go with crushed coral to help buffer ph? Or stick with live sand? What do you all use?

Steve

 

[itz frank]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. My advice is probably only going to confuse you.

My previous tank, was a nutrient disaster and I was overrun by all types of algae and then bryopsis on top of it. I had a sand bed in my refugium section.

I've since gone away from running a refugium and have added siporax to my sump for additional biofiltration.

If I were to run a refugium again, I would probably run it bare bottom with just free floating cheato for ease of cleaning it.

For me, and take this lightly because I give bad advice, the addition of crushed coral, sand, or miracle mud would just mean something else for me to worry about leaching nutrients back into the system eventually. I, personally, wouldn't want to worry about it.

Now, there are thousands of people that run successful refugiums, and one will chime in shortly.

 

[rovster]

In my fuge I run extra live rock and chaeto. Don't do sand, unless you are planning a DSB and even in that case, it should be remote. I am convinced my fuge helps with nutrients, but I have a HUGE ball of chaeto. When my nutrients get too low I cut it in half and things go on their merry way. I also run about 5L of Siporax just for kicks, and I have trouble keeping nitrates in the tank...

 

[ANFPO]

I would go with miracle mud, the 70plus trace minerals, eventhough you can hardly test for them, do make my corals more colorful and robust, all else being equal.
Aragonite for buffering at the alkalinity we keep our tanks at, is basically non-existent. We should all really try to dispel that myth.