Refugium substrates
- Thread starter BigJim
- Start date
The Reefer91
New member
i'm pretty sure it doesn't matter as long as it's about 4inches. i'd get live sand if you can afford it(what size refugium) however, if you are going with a CPR H.O.B. refugium, i'd maybe get miracle mud(sounds cool, read it's good) and if all else fails, just get a DSB out of arag-alive
hookdonreefs
New member
I would go with carib-sea reef sand at 4 inches and seed it with some live sand or miracle mud. Miracle mud is real fine like powder so you dont want to use all of that. Agra-alive is good if your tank isnt real big. Thats what I put in my 20.
AllenFord_SC
New member
Whatever you use just make sure there is a slow flow through the fuge. 3 to 5x the rate of the fuge. Gives the water more time to be filtered and doesn't send your pods on a rollercoaster ride.
Alaskan Reefer
New member
If you're using a HOB refugium, there isn't enough surface area for any amount of sand to do anything as far as denitrification -- it just turns into a waste dump that you have to replace without any real benefit. A thin layer on the bottom for the pods to live in or just no substrate at all. My HOB refugium is bare bottom and the pods do just fine living in the chaetomorpha. I could have more of them with a little sand, but for me it isn't worth the hassle. Besides, a healthy and well trimmed crop of chaetomorpha will remove enough ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate that the sand shouldn't matter much. If it's a big enough fuge to accomplish some denitrification with sand, then yes 4"+ so you basically have a remote DSB. The funcationality also depends also on how much bioload you have and how big your skimmer is -- my skimmer is starving right now with a light bioload (4 fish in a 125) and a very thick crop of chaeto which is doing most of the work...
Pod propogation (natural food) and a place to grow macro is what you want out of the thing -- I wouldn't get too worried about the sand...
Pod propogation (natural food) and a place to grow macro is what you want out of the thing -- I wouldn't get too worried about the sand...
Jon770
New member
I have been debating what kind of sump/fuge setup make, and after numerous posts telling me what to do I've decided on:
SKIMMER --> FUGE --> RETURN
I originally had planned to go SKIMMER --> RETURN ...and have a 'T' joint direct a portion of the return into my fuge, which will then spill back into the return (going back up into the display). This whole setup was to reduce the flow going through the fuge. But everyone told me it wasn't that big a deal to have all your return run through the fuge section of the sump (let's assume it's approximately 400gph and my fuge will be approx 15 gallons).
So now you're saying this is no good? Should I go back to my original design?
click here to if you're having a hard time visualizing my original design:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=755060
[sorry to steal your thread...]
AllenFord_SC
New member
Not to say that is is the right way but the way I did mine is as follows. Put the fuge and skimmer on opposite sides and the return is in the middle. Put a "T" on the drain from the overflow with one end going to the fuge and the other going to the skimmer. With the use of ball valves I can control the amount of water going to the fuge while the remainder goes to the skimmer. Both then flow over into the return section. Got the idea from Marc's sump/fuge desings: www.melevsreef.com . BTW BigJim great website for you to check out about your question on substrate.
jefathome
New member
I'm thinking more for Pod growth, as I am going to have a DSB as well.
What I'm doing is taking a 10g glass tank and using it sideways (10in wide 20in deep). The front half will be the display (sectioned off by black acrylic) and the back will have:
Surface skimmer --> media compartment ---> Fuge --> DSB --> return to tank
I'll probably add in a DIY Pr-skimmer in the first compartment at some point, but not at first.
Based on what has been said, I guess I will use no substraite (or very little) in the fuge and then Caribsea reefgrade sand in the bed (7in deep)and display (1-2in)
Alaskan Reefer
New member
Jon -- I've never had anything but a HOB fuge, but I know that if you overdrive the flow the macro won't be as efficient at removing nitrate / phosphate and that return pump impellers aren't real pod friendly. If you've got other flow in the tank (tunze streams, etc.) you could run your return slow enough to be good for the skimmer and fuge. I would go to the "original plan" if it's truly 400gph you're putting through the skimmer-fuge-return idea.
Alaskan Reefer
New member
AllenFord's system is a very good one...
Jef -- is that a 10g total system or just fuge with it's own "display" area? In a 10g system I'd just do water changes and forget everything else.
Jef -- is that a 10g total system or just fuge with it's own "display" area? In a 10g system I'd just do water changes and forget everything else.
