Refugium w/20 lbs of mud/plants

[SOUTHAUSTINREEF]

I just installed a refugium in a way that some folks said could not be done because of the tricky nature of siphon balance. I bought a 20 gallon refugium from Bruce at Aquateck and a 20 lb box of mud from Gary at Aquadome on special order. Ask your fish shop keepers to get stuff for you they can bundle the freight with other stuff. I mounted the tank on a rather cheap, but sturdy shelving unit I bought from Lowe's which is rated at 200 lb per shelf. I got two 250 g/m lift pumps with 1/2 hose which I routed to the top of the 120 gallon tank. One return hose to the top of the main tank and one to the top of the overflow to keep the overflow from being starved for water. This gives you some degree of insurance if one pump craps out. The overflow goes to a 30 gallon sump with BioBalls below the main tank under the steal stand. I used 1" PVC to start a siphon to supply the refugium with a ball valve. (use a gate valve they are far better at adjusting flow) I have to admit it's **** tricky at first getting the balance and with the protein skimmer pumps, lift pump and the reactor pumps all crammed into the end of the refugium consuming vast quantities of water. I solved this problem with an 1 1/2" overflow PVC pipe that feeds into the bottom tank sump. I have it where the refugium water barely overflows into this pipe so there is no chance of a massive overflow. The mud is revolutionary in aquarium low technology. It claims that it gives the novice more leeway with overloading and does seem to do a great job of controlling nitrites. I was very doubtful at first about it's benefits, but it you think about the ocean is not crystal clear like our tanks. Most aquariums are far too sterile. They need a backbone of minerals to draw from on a continual basis. It's pretty murky most of the time with run-off from lakes and streams and is a chemistry set of minerals and soluable everything. My inverts, corals and fish are all very perky and have amazingly bright colors. The mud can be mixed straight into the water column without an expensive refugium and I would suggest that anyone bold enough give it a try. My water is exteremely clear with the use of a 7" sock and a foam pad in the refugium itself. Happy reefing kids!

[Timfish]

Sounds like you had fun figuring it out! I avoid setups like that as the biology in the system is going to require constant fiddling with the valves to keep it balanced. I don't know if you've tried this but an automatic siphon might be advantageous. Her's a video of one although the ones I've played with worked fine without using the "bell" shown in the video:

You are right about the reef systems being systems that process high levels of nutrients. Many of the so called "SPS" are found in lagoons and Pocillopora damicornis is even quite at home in mangrove swamps. Most of the nutrients however come in on the tides with huge influxes of particulates and phyto and zooplankton. I'm sure you're familiar with Charles Delbeek, he points out in an article in the 2010 Nov/Dec issue of Coral "Our crystal clear aquaria do not come close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs." pg 127.

One of the more surprising pieces of research I've seen is that marine mud deposits appear to be rich in calcium and magnesium carbonates that originate in the intestines of fish as part of fish's osmoregulatory process¹ Combine that with some of the other advantages and there certainly is a good argument for using them. My own experience a refugium moderated the phosphates for 3 years in a 600 gallon system (also skimmerless) without needing partial replacement:

¹http://www.pnas.org/content/108/10/3865

P.S. James, didn't realize this was you at first! Thinking back over a couple of our discussions on your tank I think I was probably one of the ones didn't recommend it.

[Woods]

Timfish or Subsea, what kind of mud is preferred and what thickness? I have been thinking about redoing my DSB in my refug by addig some mud...

[Timfish]

This is another area there's no agreement on. I've been happy with Caribsea's product. Why do you want to switch from a DSB to a mud refugium? People have their opinions but nobody has done a long term side by side comparison to see what the differences might be.

[subsea]

I have used the same mud in my refugium for 12 years. During these years it has increased in depth about .25". Whatever mineral mud was in there before I got it, I do not know. As I do not use a filter sock, my mud filter is an accumulation of detritus and detrivores. It is spongy to the touch and full of worms, mostly bristle worms.

Patrick

[Woods]

Timfish, I currently have a 4" deep Crushed Coral sandbed in a portion of my sump. I am thinking of changing it up by adding mud to help ad minerals and other beneficial items that crushed coral doesn't provide... I figured I might do a layer of mud with a smaller layer of the crushed coral... But am open to advice and recommendations...

[subsea]

In my opinion, Florida Crushed Coral, especially in a DSB will provide many minerals, trace elements and much buffering. However, it does require maintenance. The easiest most effective is gravel vacuming. If you can prevent the substrate from clogging up, you will get more trace mineral diversity than with mud.

To my knowledge, the universal constant with vendor mud substrate is high iron contact. Iron is very easy to dose.

Patrick

[Woods]

I had heard mud is good in Calcium and Magnesium as well.... And that it helps to promote great macro growth taking in nitrates and phosphates naturally.

[subsea]

I see no scientific basis to nitrate and phosphate reduction using mud. I would be surprised if it had appreciable levels of calcium and magnesium as well. In my opinion mud filters work because of the worms in the mud. My mud level has increased in depth in 12 years. No filter sock with detritus deposited on top of mud filter. Yes, it is a nutrient sink. The detrivores multiply with spores released to reef tank inhabitants, thereby feeding corals and NPS. My mud filter processes nutrients by supplying detritus as food to grow detrivores. They in turn multiply and provide nutrient recycling.

I do not put much bases on forum opinions. The reputable companies will list the ingredients.

Patrick

[SOUTHAUSTINREEF]

Mud is the best I think b/c it has such a wide range of minerals found in nature. You can use coral, but you just get coral. My plants love this stuff and the plants are what are eating the nitrites. Phosphate reactor seems to be doing a good job on those I keep that running all the time. I add mud straight into the water column ever other day. Things seem to perk up a lot in the tank and the water clears in 15 minutes.