refugium question

[bapski]

I'm expecting my sump/refugium and am a bit confused/unsure what substrate to put in.

I've read that ideally, mud, live sand, live rock should be put in. is this a fact?

can I not just put in live sand and live rock and not the mud? as I have read that mud needs to be replaced every so often.


thanks.

 

[austinsdad]

Recommendation is a 50% replacement after the first two years, then 50% yearly thereafter. I believe you can just do sand and rubble if you like but google on miracle mud and read for yourself. Recently a couple of folks told me they used mud with sand on top to keep things settled a little better. Using a combo sump and refugium? If so, think about most saying that the flow thru a fuge is about 1x turnover per hour. Some do more I believe, but if a combo, seems you'll have a lot faster.

 

[bapski]

thanks for the reply.

i have bought mineral mud. is this the same as miracle mud that you have cited?

also am not sure if i understand your point about TURNOVER.. can you elaborate further please.

thanks again.

 

[austinsdad]

Turnover is the number of times water passes thru the container in an hour, be it fish tank or fuge. Say you got a 20g fuge and a sump rated at 20g gph. Assuming no head loss from running the water up a certain height and the sump actually pumps 20 gph, then your turnover rate is 1x. I think I'm going for a slow flow like that in my fuge, maybe 2x.

By contrast, reef tanks are suggested for a 10 - 20x turnover rate. Return pumps and a combination of either powerheads or closed loop systems get you that high.

Not sure about the mineral vs. miracle. Probably similar if not the same. Just a guess. Google'm.

 

[jasno999]

True but flow all depends on the setup of the fuge/sump.

I saw one guy who ad water come into the left side of the sump where soem LR was placed. From there it went through soem baffels and hit a area where the heater and the skimemr were located. After that it went thorugh another baffle. Next was the system return pump. The pump was piped back to the main tank and it was also piped over to the next section where the fuge was located. HE used a valve to control the amount of flow into the fuge which then backfed into the location where the return pump was located.

This way the sump could blow water thru it fast and the fuge could go at a slower pace but they were all combined so it worked out.