sump questions

[rapture]

im in the process of making a new sump for the fact that my skimmer is no longer adequate. im going to be using a refuge and there are many ways to go about this. but my question is.

so I use a deep sand bed?
or bare bottom fuge?

what are the advantages and disadvantages to either?

what would you do?

 

[567234ta]

really depends on what you plan on having in the tank. fish are big creators of crap and require lots of good filtering. I have a fairly deep sand bed in my sump, about 4" at max, and i'm getting away from chaeto to more decorative plants like red gracilaria that wont break off a tiny piece and work their way into the tanks over taking everything.
I use the reverse lighting schedule from sump to tanks to keep a good balance on pH.

 

[rapture]

I have a medium fish load and keeping mostly lps, running ai sol blue lights and investing in a calcium reactor as well as a fosban reactor , have an ato direct line to my ro system

 

[567234ta]

I guess the questions would be what skimmer do you currently have, and total water volume, what skimmer are you getting? the deep sand bed debate can be read about in great depth on this forum for sure. miracle mud, snake oils, you name it. I have found that the size of the neck on the skimmer is what really matters most when it comes to how much it can pull out. A larger neck like 8" is great for massive amounts of removal, but as the water gets cleaner it becomes harder for the larger neck to create bubbles large enough to go over the edge and be removed.
The ideal skimmer would be able to shrink its neck size by reading the tds in the water, since there is no such thing available we have to guess what skimmer will do the best. Not claiming that pumps and design don't matter, but bubbles are bubbles no matter what makes them. good quality pumps and design mean longevity and practicality.
If you have sand in the tank it would not hurt to have sand in the sump with some exceptions. It adds bio conversion volume to the overall setup, but it can also pollute if it becomes a trap for pollutants. I starve my sump sand bed, by using filter socks, skimmer, bio pellets and LR before the water even gets to it.
Right now it is beneath a layer of chaeto, but like i said ill be getting rid of that all together for less intrusive plants, i have no sand sifting stars, crabs or anything in there as they would die from starvation.