Part build / Part fuge question

jquigley524 · Mar 23, 2021

Alright well first things first. Hey! Long time lurker, first time thread starter! Started to get the itch a few months ago to get back into keeping a tank and somehow got my wife to agree with me! I had a 55g FOWLR for almost 10 years but that was just over 10 years ago and man a lot has changed! Ended up going with the Red Sea Reefer XL300 and have been very happy with the purchase so far.

Still figuring things out and trying to go as slow as i possibly can (it’s really freaking hard!). This site has been a huge lifesaver and happy to have found it! I’ve borrowed heavily from some build threads (aka straight up stole designs) and picked up some great tips and tricks as well as a few odds and ends for the tank off the marketplace.

looking forward to at least another decade of reefing with you fine folks and now that I’ve gotten all of that out of the way onto a quick question. Fuge substrates, what do you use or do you just keep it bare bottom? So far in my small section of the Reefer sump dedicated to the fuge I just have a few small pieces of rock and an ever growing clump of chaeto. Any reason to go or not to go with a substrate like miracle mud? Appreciate all the feedback

vetteguy53081 · Mar 23, 2021

looking real nice

Bfragale · Mar 23, 2021

Hi and welcome!

I think you will get mixed answers, and there’s different approaches. I have a display refugium on one tank and have a 5” sand bed. My other tank has cheato only- and the last refugium has a little sand, a lot of rock and macro algae on top.
All have work for me. I’ve never used the mud but I am a huge fan of diversity in regards to bacteria’s and stuff and I hear the mud is good. But no experience to speak of with the mud.

one thing I notice- the less you have in the fuge the easier it is to clean lol. But also I think the more rocks/rubble etc seem to give more places for pods and things to hide and maintain a healthy population.

I have no idea what’s best lol. Only what I’ve tried lol. Good luck and happy reefing.

SaltyT · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome to R2R! I don’t run a fuge so I can’t help with your question, but your tank looks great!

Salty Rambler · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome to R2R and back to the hobby! I've heard great things about miracle mud but have not tried it myself. My fuge has chunks of live rock in it that I can easily move around during cleaning.

MERKEY · Mar 23, 2021

Hello and welcome to R2R!

JL15219 · Mar 23, 2021

Hello and welcome to R2R!!!!

Peace River · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome to Reef2Reef! It looks like you have an interesting build - welcome to the adventure!

Bepis · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome.. I love my two Hawkfish they are some of my favs

jtp7004ft · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome!

00W · Mar 23, 2021

Welcome! Looks like you're making a great start!

Fish Think Pink · Mar 24, 2021

jquigley524 said:
Alright well first things first. Hey! Long time lurker, first time thread starter! Started to get the itch a few months ago to get back into keeping a tank and somehow got my wife to agree with me! I had a 55g FOWLR for almost 10 years but that was just over 10 years ago and man a lot has changed! Ended up going with the Red Sea Reefer XL300 and have been very happy with the purchase so far.

Still figuring things out and trying to go as slow as i possibly can (it’s really freaking hard!). This site has been a huge lifesaver and happy to have found it! I’ve borrowed heavily from some build threads (aka straight up stole designs) and picked up some great tips and tricks as well as a few odds and ends for the tank off the marketplace.

looking forward to at least another decade of reefing with you fine folks and now that I’ve gotten all of that out of the way onto a quick question. Fuge substrates, what do you use or do you just keep it bare bottom? So far in my small section of the Reefer sump dedicated to the fuge I just have a few small pieces of rock and an ever growing clump of chaeto. Any reason to go or not to go with a substrate like miracle mud? Appreciate all the feedback

Welcome! Nice setup & great photos!

Whatever you do, it's going to be great. Try something. See if it works for you. If not, try something different. It's all about having fun and doing our best with what we have. Whatever you do, try to keep area clean where pumps are located. You don't want anything to go into your pump intakes and clog/jam/dirty your pumps.

I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions, and many differ. My sump has 3 small sections, and in the middle I put my refugium. To do this, I moved my skimmer to end/section 3, but then extended skimmer intake pump via long tube to first section when tank water flows back down via gravity. With my pumps and skimmer in last/third section, it freed up my refugium in section 2. Originally was bare bottom. Really liked bare bottom.

Over time, felt my DT was having it's copepods eaten too quickly, so got the very porous copod 'rock' from BRS and layered it along bottom. Then because different things I was trying to keep my macroalgae from escaping (screen, eggcrate, ... ) from section 2 to 3 wasn't working optimally, I got more of the pod rock on another order and put it vertical to let water thru and contain macroalgae. I had a bunch of leftover pod rock, so I did a second layer along bottom... Love everything I've tried except the second bottom layer. I feel it made it too shallow so macro algae doesn't self turn as easily. Also, discovered removing algae from the wall between section 1 to section 2 refugium changed the angle how water flowed into section 2... I'll be keeping that a little dirty going forward since I'm all about letting it self turn so it grows without care. This cleaning also taught me that shape, height and speed all matter, so what may work for one DT & sump may not be optimal in another ... and that's not factoring so many additional things.

Look forward to hearing what you try and what you like!