Refugium Set Up

Shep

Reefing newb
Hey,

So in the next week or two I should be getting my refugium but I have no idea how how to set it up. So my questions are what should my substrate be (mud or sand), what kind of plant/algae should I put in it and is there anything else that should go inside of it?

Thanks
 
I would really like to see some pics. I need to figure how to do my refugium too. I am thinking a 10g or so tall tank right next to my sump, but I really dont know. I dont have a ton of room in my stand.
 
I haven't heard of any great results of mud, I would class it under the gimmick category. There is nothing wrong with more sand and more live rock. I use cheato because it is effective and cheap. Best way to absorb nitrates and phosphates besides w/c's. I tried the mangroves and they are a cool feature for a pretty sump, but they don't absorb as much excess nutrients as cheato does. No maintenance required besides pulling out a chunk every once in a while.

When sizing a sump keep in mind that it will house your heaters protein skimmer, reactors, dosing pumps, filters...... size does matter in sumps for all the mechanical stuff in the future. Water changes are not going to provide you everything once your tank is stocked.
 
I am starting to wish I invested more in my sump and got one about twice the size. I dont have any room for a fuge in there. I really want to build one, but it sounds like I am going to need to to do an external with an overflow going into it and then having that overflow into my 1st sump chamber. I want to see if I can do an external ATO (hide it under a large potted plant or something) so I can have room for a larger fuge.
 
I am starting to wish I invested more in my sump and got one about twice the size. I dont have any room for a fuge in there. I really want to build one, but it sounds like I am going to need to to do an external with an overflow going into it and then having that overflow into my 1st sump chamber. I want to see if I can do an external ATO (hide it under a large potted plant or something) so I can have room for a larger fuge.
youve done well up to now jordan you will figure it out:thumbsup:
 
I don'r recommend a substrate because it makes it so much harder to clean, unless you're looking to do a display fuge like d2mini has. There's so many plants you can use. Mangroves, caulerpa, chaeto, ulva, etc. But in my opinion the best for filtration that I use are grape caulerpa, fern caulerpa, caulerpa prolifera, and chaeto.
 
i run no substrate in my sump some LR wroks great as it helps with the bioload and as said above the bigger the better when it comes to sump
 
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