Sand in the refugium?

[wontonflip]

Should I have sand in the plant part of my refugium? Or is ok to just have the plant alone?

 

[lightcs4]

My *guess* would be that it would depend on what type of plants. I just put cheato and about 7 inches of sand in my fuge.

 

[yote]

+1 Lights.

 

[JAG107]

If you're going to put in sand, make it at least 5 or 6 inches, or don't bother at all, IMO.

 

[naperenterprise]

I agree! DSB Deep Sand Bed! This (IMO) is the point of having a refugium... otherwise it would just be called a sump.

Another way is to get the refugium MUD instead of the sand if you want an option...

 

[simpleman]

I agree with all here. I always had a nitrate problem (20+) until I added a dsb. Now I have little to no nitrates. It's worth the bag of sand!

 

[hibye]

I think that Miricle mud works the best but it is very expensive.

 

[lightcs4]

Oh, I also like ruble rock in the fuge. It makes a good environment for pods to breed.

 

[daugherty]

i have about 60 pounds of sand and somewere close to 100-150lbs ov live rock in mine

 

[naperenterprise]

Oh yeah! Lots or rock in the fuge... I agree 100%

Oh, I also like ruble rock in the fuge. It makes a good environment for pods to breed.

 

[wontonflip]

Bought some miracle sand! My super awesome lfs let me pay half now half later LOL I didn't want to spend THAT much today, but they really spoke highly about using the mud instead of sand. Also got my algae. So I"m just waiting for the sand to settle before activating that part of the sump.

I hope to get my nitrates down SOON so I can get my first fish!

 

[JAG107]

Cool, let us know how that mud works out for ya! Try explaining that to the wife, why you just spent x$ on a tub of "special" mud lol

 

[naperenterprise]

Great choice! You'll love it! Much better than sand, But I don't talk much about it, its hard to convince one to spend 80 bucks on a can of mud...lol

EDIT: Did you get sand or MUD? I saw miricle and my brain said mud...lol

 

[wontonflip]

I just put in some Miracle Mud that I just got from my lfs, and the chaeto. How long before the water clears up? The majority of the mud has settled, but the water is still dirty. For now, I have the refugium part of my sump bypassed -- the water is just going through my intake, skimmer, then return. Should I put it back in the picture? I think all the murky water will pass through the return and end up in my tank. Should I just wait for it to clear up completely?

 

[wontonflip]

damn...incidentally, I just realized I put "miracle sand" instead of miracle mud a couple posts ago. LOL DOh! Still tired from doing tank setup last night at 2 am LOL

 

[Bifferwine]

I would keep it being bypassed for a couple days. It usually takes one or two days for stuff to settle. And when you do hook it up, it won't hurt to run some sort of mechanical filtration to pull out any particles left over in the water.

 

[d.french]

i use rock rubble and chaeto, grape calupra, fern calupra.

 

[wontonflip]

If I wait a couple of days, won't that water in the fuge section go stagnant since nothing is coming in our out of it? Or is that ok?

 

[Bifferwine]

For a couple of days, it should be okay.

 

[yote]

Heres my 10,000th post:D

It'd probably be a good idea to drop a small powerhead in the fuge,just to help keep the water oxygenated.