Sand in refugium?

[rob020880]

Hello,

I have a sump that has a refugium section. I currently have live rock rubble in there and a ball of chaeto. I was wondering if you guys think I should put sand in there? Will the sand bring any benefits? Might to cause problems or added maintenance? Should I stick with the rubble or add some sand beneath it?

 

[Percula9]

A deep sand bed will help with the denitrification process. It will help remove nitrates.

 

[ledford1]

I'd either go DSB or BB.

Personally, I'd stick with the BB fuge. You could look into doing a remote DSB though if that's something you'd like to incorporate.

 

[rob020880]

If I do the DSB should I still keep the rubble in there? Which would be more effective DSB or BB as the fuge is not that large.

 

[Thunk]

I'll let the more expierianced folks answer the which is better question.

I just wanted to chime in, if you are adding sand to an existing setup plan to shut the sump down for about a day or two. I turned my pump on to early and clouded my tank really bad. Sadly my Mandarin did not make it. this is also a good reason to have a QT tank, which i do now, if you nuke your own tank with stupidity you can pull your fish and save some lives.