Refugium advice?

Ishai Thatcher

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Hey all! I’m setting up a 200 gallon sps dominant mixed reef system with a 40 gallon triton sump with a 20 gallon refugium. I was planning on using 2 marine pure bricks (right under overflow drains) + 30 pounds of Fiji mud covered by 40 pounds of ocean direct live sand. It will be lit by 2 ai prime fuge lights, and 2 tunze ecochic refugium lights. I am gonna run clean chaeto only.

Does this sound like a legit plan for balancing ph at night as well as nutrient export? Mainly I’m curious if the Fiji mud is worth using?

the sump will also have filter socks, and a powerful dc pump skimmer.

Thanks in advance for all your advice!
 

Mywifeisgunnakillme

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I'd probably get the tank, sump, and live rock/bricks running. Make sure cycled. Have a skimmer going. Add some fish and add some corals. Monitor nitrate and phosphate. Add whatever else, e.g., chaeto, once corals get growing to keep nutrients where your tank likes it to keep nuisance algae away.

I've never done the "mud" and keep sand in my tank less than an inch or so... i've read people like "miracle" mud, but that seems like a trace element thing when you have a good population and size of corals.

But really whatever works for you! Your plan does not sound like a crazy plan to me at all and i am sure will work :)
 

1guydude

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I have a friend who uses the white chalk bricks that degrade over time. I cant remember what their for.
D
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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Y
I'd probably get the tank, sump, and live rock/bricks running. Make sure cycled. Have a skimmer going. Add some fish and add some corals. Monitor nitrate and phosphate. Add whatever else, e.g., chaeto, once corals get growing to keep nutrients where your tank likes it to keep nuisance algae away.

I've never done the "mud" and keep sand in my tank less than an inch or so... i've read people like "miracle" mud, but that seems like a trace element thing when you have a good population and size of corals.

But really whatever works for you! Your plan does not sound like a crazy plan to me at all and i am sure will work :)
Yeah def gotta have nutrients to uptake before I blast the chaeto with light. The Fiji mud seems like it can come with spores n eggs for all kinds of little organisms like feather dusters and sponges, which I like the sound of cause you can’t get live rock with those critters anymore. Seems like sorta a lot of the good of live rock with out the pests. And it is a trace element thing, I think it also has live bacterial cultures too.
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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I have a friend who uses the white chalk bricks that degrade over time. I cant remember what their for.
D
Yeah that’s the marine pure bricks or sea lab 28. The marine pure bricks are just a super porous home for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to filter the tank.
 

mickeysreef <*))))<

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i wouldnt have those bricks under the drain, they are fragile and will deteriorate under the drain. maybe just out of the hard flow
 

Mywifeisgunnakillme

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i wouldnt have those bricks under the drain, they are fragile and will deteriorate under the drain. maybe just out of the hard flow

Seachem matrix is another easy way to add that kinda stuff. Use bag. I like it so i can add to QT tanks when needed to cycle.
 

Mywifeisgunnakillme

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I wanna stay away from actual live rock cause I don’t want any chance of pests like aptasia.
Ehh, i'd go live rock 1000% of the time. Waaaaay easier. Waaaay fewer problems. You can qt the live rock and remove pests. Or lower the temp to kill stuff. NOTHING compares for bacterial load and avoiding nuisance algae and dinos--which cause people to call it quits far more often than aptasia or a bristle or whatever..
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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i wouldnt have those bricks under the drain, they are fragile and will deteriorate under the drain. maybe just out of the hard flow
Good call, do you think the filter socks will disperse the flow enough so it doesn’t blow around my ocean direct sand? Should I not bother with any sand in the refugium since the overflow drains directly into it?
this is my sump the triton 44 v2. The link to it wouldn’t work.
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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Ehh, i'd go live rock 1000% of the time. Waaaaay easier. Waaaay fewer problems. You can qt the live rock and remove pests. Or lower the temp to kill stuff. NOTHING compares for bacterial load and avoiding nuisance algae and dinos--which cause people to call it quits far more often than aptasia or a bristle or whatever..
I went that route one time and just ended up with all kinds of problems with flatworms and aptasia+ I’m planning on doing a rlly nice negative space aquascape which I already got all my reef saver for. I’m just really hoping the Fiji mud can give me some of those good bacterium along with the ocean direct and a couple quick cycle products like microbacter 7, turbo start, and Tim’s one and only. I really want to be able to say my tank is totally pest and disease free for when I start selling some corals and anemones and maybe fish.
 

Mywifeisgunnakillme

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I went that route one time and just ended up with all kinds of problems with flatworms and aptasia+ I’m planning on doing a rlly nice negative space aquascape which I already got all my reef saver for. I’m just really hoping the Fiji mud can give me some of those good bacterium along with the ocean direct and a couple quick cycle products like microbacter 7, turbo start, and Tim’s one and only. I really want to be able to say my tank is totally pest and disease free for when I start selling some corals and anemones and maybe fish.

Problems no matter what.. lol. THAT IS THIS HOBBY. :)

I just lower the temp to near freezing on live rock if i think there are critters i dont want .. bacteria will live no matter what...
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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Problems no matter what.. lol. THAT IS THIS HOBBY. :)

I just lower the temp to near freezing on live rock if i think there are critters i dont want .. bacteria will live no matter what...
I’m just gonna do a super long cycle. Hopefully I don’t get too messed up by algae or dinos. I got like a gallon of no3 po4 x and a monster of a skimmer so hopefully I won’t get hit too hard. I’m gonna be doing auto water changes as well.
 

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I wanna stay away from actual live rock cause I don’t want any chance of pests like aptasia.

yah but you want an acro tank. No? Sometimes dry rock can take 1-2 years to support acros. The mud and bottles probably won’t save you. It’s just not the same. Some do okay but others have problems.. there is an entire thread dedicated to bacteria and SPS.

Live rock all the way. I just buy the KPA rock from the ocean and QT it in a bin.

Besides... unless you plan to have a second tank to QT every coral... you will get some pests now and again. Fish disease or aptasia spores or bubble algae spores. Coral dip doesn’t kill em.

Idk just know that there may be some set backs I guess.
 
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Ishai Thatcher

Ishai Thatcher

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yah but you want an acro tank. No? Sometimes dry rock can take 1-2 years to support acros. The mud and bottles probably won’t save you. It’s just not the same. Some do okay but others have problems.. there is an entire thread dedicated to bacteria and SPS.

Live rock all the way. I just buy the KPA rock from the ocean and QT it in a bin.

Besides... unless you plan to have a second tank to QT every coral... you will get some pests now and again. Fish disease or aptasia spores or bubble algae spores. Coral dip doesn’t kill em.

Idk just know that there may be some set backs I guess.
Too late now. If it takes a year or some more to support acros I can deal with that. All the tanks I’ve seen that I wanted to emulate use dry rock. I am gonna quarantine my corals. I bought a little 32 gallon nano tank with an extra radion xr15 pro just for that purpose.
 
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