Sump equipment

[Mishikal]

Hey guys, just had a quick question.

I finally got my sump built under my cabinet. The question I have is what to do for the refugium? What type of sand is the best and what type of algae should I get and what should I put in with it? It's about 10 gallons and I am going down to the LFS and I am not sure what to get from there. Should I get small salt grain sand and some miracle mud or something to seed it with some microalgae?

Any opinions would be great

 

[Angelscrx]

I have grape cualerpa, razor cualerpa, and halemida macroalgaes in mine. I also have both fine sand and crushed coral and some small pieces of rock and crushed sea shells.

 

[NaH2O]

If you don't want to do the substrate route, rubble piles will provide nice popagation piles for pods. In my refugium, I simply have live rock, rubble, and no light. It is basically for pods to populate in/seek refuge.

Here is a really good thread on Basic Refugium Maintenance Question.

 

[Angelscrx]

If you don't want to do the substrate route, rubble piles will provide nice popagation piles for pods. In my refugium, I simply have live rock, rubble, and no light. It is basically for pods to populate in/seek refuge.

Here is a really good thread on Basic Refugium Maintenance Question.

I was thinkng that when I upgrade tanks I want to do rubble bottom in the display tank but it doesn't look as pretty. Any major benefits to doing that besides the pods loving the playground?

 

[NaH2O]

The downside is the maintenance of a rubble bottom display. IMO, it would collect detritus, waste, and food that would need to be siphoned out on a regular basis. I suppose if your flow/circulation was such that the detritus was kept suspended, then the maintenance would be less. You could always make the rubble piles in hidden areas of the display for the pods.

 

[Angelscrx]

I was just wondering Nikki thanks. I may go BB on the backside with a SSB in front of the rocks. I like the look of sand but from everything I have been reading it looks like the may be a bad thing in display tanks. IMO, I like the idea of a remote DSB though. That way when it reached saturation you can just pull it and put in a new one.

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

I used a mix of Oolitic sand and GARF Grunge Light in mine with about 3 inches of depth. I have mangroves and Chaeto Algae growing in mine but I do have a considerable amount of (DIY)live rock rubble in there as well. Dont know if this is the "Right Way" but its working pretty well for me....