Deep Mud Bed Retention refugium

[travis_]

I am starting to plan out my upstairs tank which will be connected to my series of down stair tanks (all interconnected). I want to install a refugium half way down (high in the basement) to help biologically breakdown the upstairs tank's waste before dumping into my 25 gal main refugium. I am thinking about going with a deep mud bed with coral gavel top layer and algae refugium. Any comments on how well deep mud beds work? Oh yeah, I am planning on using clay based kitty litter to create the mud. I will light it with outdoor florescent flood lights.

Input appreciated,

Travis

 

[travis_]

Come on! i need some advice. I am going ahead with setting this up. I may go with a deep sand bed or a deep mud bed. I do not want to buy the expensive miracle mud so will cheap, clay kitty litter work? Any downside to this. If there is a downside to the kitty litter I will just use some of the crushed coral sand I have.

thanks for input (I hope).

I am starting to plan out my upstairs tank which will be connected to my series of down stair tanks (all interconnected). I want to install a refugium half way down (high in the basement) to help biologically breakdown the upstairs tank's waste before dumping into my 25 gal main refugium. I am thinking about going with a deep mud bed with coral gavel top layer and algae refugium. Any comments on how well deep mud beds work? Oh yeah, I am planning on using clay based kitty litter to create the mud. I will light it with outdoor florescent flood lights.

Input appreciated,

Travis

 

[Curtswearing]

Kitty litter is basically a zeolite and it will provide a lot of surface area for Nitrifying bacteria to live. I'm not sure why you would necessarily need to use a deep bed though? I doubt it would provide the correct conditions necessary for a DSB that would give you NNR (Natural Nitrate Reduction).

This goes without saying but make sure there's nothing else added to the kitty litter like a scent, anti-bacterial agent, etc.

 

[Scooterman]

I would worry about what they add to the cat little, I know the el-cheap-o littler may be free of anything but the clay & it gets totally silt once submerged but will it work as effectively as MM IMO I'd think the sand DSB would be more effective, unless you can actually gather silt directly from the source as what MM is. Sand can be as cheap as play sand or you can get the real stuff at a higher price but may have less issues long term.

 

[travis_]

I would worry about what they add to the cat little, I know the el-cheap-o littler may be free of anything but the clay & it gets totally silt once submerged but will it work as effectively as MM IMO I'd think the sand DSB would be more effective, unless you can actually gather silt directly from the source as what MM is. Sand can be as cheap as play sand or you can get the real stuff at a higher price but may have less issues long term.

I have a bunch of crushed coral sand, basically the same as the packaged live sand but outside in a tub, got it from some guy tearing down his tank for free. I just want what is best. Do you think that a thin mud bed topped with a Deep Sand Bed would be the way to go?

 

[returnofsid]

If you're going to do this, I'd suggest using sand, not crushed coral. Crushed coral has a tendency to build up nitrates.

 

[Scooterman]

Trying to mix the two to get maybe a total varying available surface area for bacteria? Thing about that is can you actually manage it, contain a vast variety & keep alive? I think this could be hard work If you had to maintain it at some point, It isn't like it would never fill up. I also think having deep sand on top would smother the silt to where it wouldn't serve as well If it stood alone. MM has to be replaced on a regular basis, even DSB will have limitations. How much life do you plan on supporting? Fish, corals, Inverts, everything living in the tank is a load within itself. The most practical filtration is removal period, people use everything else to lesson that need but all in all that is what it comes down to no escaping that glass box.