miracle mud in media bag?

[Coderad]

I have decided on the mirical mud with some Caulerpa. Mabey some live rock rubble. But looking at my sump I don't know if I can just have a mud bed it might have to be in a media bag, or it will get sucked into the tank
How will that work with the Caulerpa?
or will it be fine just leaving the mud bed?

This is they style of sump "Amiracle Slim-Line Wet-Dry"
sorry fixed link
http://www.southbroadwaytropicals.com/ItemPages/WetDry.htm
What do you think?

[andrewsk]

I have decided on the mirical mud with some Caulerpa. Mabey some live rock rubble. But looking at my sump I don't know if I can just have a mud bed it might have to be in a media bag, or it will get sucked into the tank
How will that work with the Caulerpa?
or will it be fine just leaving the mud bed?

This is they style of sump "Amiracle Slim-Line Wet-Dry"
sorry fixed link
http://www.southbroadwaytropicals.com/ItemPages/WetDry.htm
What do you think?


I would NOT put it in a media bag. It will leach through and cloud the tank I am sure. It really needs to be used as a substrate.

Have you thought of making a small refugium?

[Coderad]

Well no not really I was hoping to use the sump I bought. It takes up the whole cabnet. I don't think I would have much room for a small fuge.

[Coderad]

Here is a picture of the sump.
Do you think the mud bed will stay in the bottom?

[Coderad]

bump

[albert_dao]

You'd be wasting your time trying to figure it out in that sump. It's not designed for a mud set up. Perhaps consider an alternative to the Miracle mud system? Like... ZEOVIT!~

[Coderad]

What is ZEOVIT?
from what I have read a mud or sand bed is best.
But I am open to new options, cause so far it is not looking so good, to make this work. With out buying a new sump

[albert_dao]

What has convinced you that mud/sand is the best?

The truth is that some of the best tanks I have seen only use a protein skimmer.

The addition of an alternate methodology is something that I find applicable only when you're trying to achieve something very specific (eg. Zeovit is phenomenal for SPS tanks, whereas MM would probably produce a great Softie/LPS tank).

Regarding mixed reefs, my personal take is that a fluidize ROWAphos alongside quality carbon and a good skimmer will give you the best results.

Edit: Forgot to mention - Zeovit

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=636

[Coderad]

ok cool that makes sense. So as for my sump should I just leave it empty and add some carbon. Or mabey some live rock rubble?

[albert_dao]

Live rock has no place in the sump. I don't know where the idea came from (although I suspect it's a practice developed by stores just to sucker people into buying more rock) but it's ridiculous. Your main tank should be able to hold more than enough live rock to support overstocking, should it appeal to you to do so.

Go with a high quality (important) carbon. Figure out what you want to do with the remaining space in terms of equipment. Don't waste your time with MM in that sump.

[Coderad]

Ok for the carbon do I need to get a media bag to cover the whole sump returen or will just a smaller one in the sump work? (6"x4"?)

[albert_dao]

Ok for the carbon do I need to get a media bag to cover the whole sump returen or will just a smaller one in the sump work? (6"x4"?)

Carbon filtration will work fine as a passive process. If you want the most performance out of your carbon, consider a PhosBan reactor to fluidize it. Aside from that, just toss a small bag (high quality carbons only need like half a cup/100 gal) of it into the sump in an area that gets decent flow. Just make sure you knead the bag daily to keep the carbon from channeling.

Also, make sure you replace the carbon every two weeks or so.

[Coderad]

cool thanks for your help.