Substrate in Refugium

[awiseman00]

I'm almost ready to hook up my sump/refuge to my display tank and I was wondering if I could use crushed coral as my substrate? I bought it before I knew you needed live sand. I could also scope a little live sand out of the display tank to help get things starting in the refuge? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SeaView]

I think the crushed coral will be a trap for detritus and hard to clean.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

you can use anything. the question is: what about long-term maintenance?

crushed coral is a good size to trap organics yet not go anaerobic. this makes for nitrate factories. which may not be bad in a fuge packed with chaeto, but eventually it will foul.

Maybe the correct angle to approach this is the question:

what do I need the substrate to do for me in my fuge? if you have no purpose. skip it. the fuge will be easier to clean.

If you are farming pods or want an external DSB etc, then use the appropriate type of sand known to be the most successful.