refugium/sump tank

[Phang]

Hey,

Maybe if we could find out how this MM works, can duplicate it...

Besides, the MM is suppose to sustain the Caulerpa so that it could do the nutrient depleting in the aquarium.....

Hmmmmm.........

[spiff]

wah $100+++++ for mud is pretty ex.

i use c1 sand n the plants have been great for 1.5yrs

my fren told me tt the mud tank at hong leong dosent seem very good after afew months....so u guys might want to reconsider

[chanbi]

I have added in my refugium about 2 mths back and i'm using the MM (i'm using the below setup, see link). But as i'm restricted by space, i only put in 10lb of the mud. For the first 2 weeks of the setup, i have quite a bit of ugly algae/diatom in the refugium and the macro algae don't grow well.

http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/html/mira...pplication.html

But after that when it stabilised (i added a few snails), i see significantly reduction in the amt skimmed by the skimmer, pretty clean sandbed (without the usual brownish look), less algae grown on the main tank (but i guess normal refugium with macro algae should see the same effect?). And the pH is very stable throughout the day/night (should be contributed by the 24/7). As for other benefits that is mentioned by Leng Syd, i have yet to see it or maybe not easily measureable (like can prevent/cure HLLE, no need to add additives which i still do)??

But one thing for sure, the refugium is definitely helpful in growing the worms, copepods, and amphipods (some of them grow real big and sometime do wonder where the worms come from?). But so far not sure how many of them manage to survive the pump and get to the main tank? <_<

As for whether skimming is needed together with MM, there are some FAQ that u can take a look at the below link.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mudfiltrfaqs.htm

[hydra]

There seems to be a MM substitute -- Kent Biosediment.

It cost only 1/5 of the price of MM.

From the thread below,

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/archi...2002/05/4/70211

seems that the biosediment accelerates the growth of his caulerpa,

and his nitrates falls from 50ppm to 0.

[Phang]

Hi Hydra,

Is this item commercially available here??

Pricing???

And anyone out there who have tried this ????

Thanks

[spiff]

maybe can ask sam from sealife to bring in for u. since he dealing wif alot of kent stuff........

[hongqixian]

MM emulates the mud in the natural mangroves. The anoxic areas inside also act like a DSB and generally it is natural, should work well but is way overpriced, I think .

[BarraCudaTM]

the main benefits of MM is that it allows macroalgae to grow without excessive algae bloom, macroalgae is the 1 doing all the filtration and nutrient export.

this also can be achieved with normal C1 coralsand with base fertilizers, these fertilizers release nutrients as they dissolved slowly. Further supplement can be done with more base fertilizers or liquid fertilizers when the macroalgae is capable of absorbing before the bad algae does

those hardy algae like ferns or those bushy type can grow very when when you dose those board spectrum fertilizers with potassium iodide + iron

[Phang]

Base fertilizers for those FW????

[BarraCudaTM]

yah

[Phang]

Thanks Barracuda,

Do you use these base fertilisers for your setup???

Anyone out there thried base fertilisers, those for FW as base for DSB......

[BarraCudaTM]

I use a mixture of liquid and base fertilizers

1 thing to note is to avoid using fertilizers with high amount of copper

[spiff]

heres my refuge....using normal c1 sand. no dosage of fertilizers. only iron.

[spiff]

close up

[Achilles Tang]

Hmmm... actually why the need for base fertilizers??

Your macroalgae should be relying on your tank's dissolved waste organic materials as well as the phosphates to grow.

The only addition you need is iron supplements.

If you are already having base fertilizers and when you have a overload of DOM in your tank... your macroalgae will be unable to cope and you'll see a bloom of nuisance algae taking hold.

The purpose of macros in a refugium is to outcompete the nuisance algae as a form of filtration.

[Phang]

Heehee,

This is a great place to learn.... Thanks guys..

Spiff, you have a jungle!!!!!!!!

Spare some macro next time ...OK.....

[Tanzy]

Base fert???

Macroalgae doesn't even have roots!

[Achilles Tang]

Yeah they do... small ones that come out of their runners...

But not that deep like FW plants!

[hongqixian]

Not roots actually, holdfasts. Don't absorb anything.

[Tanzy]

hongqixian is right. Those are holdfast only. Only true plants have roots that absorb nutrients. The base fert cannot be utilised directly by macroalgae and must dissolve into the water then absorbed by the algae.

[BarraCudaTM]

the base fertilizer is to kickstart the macroalgae and mantain the overall health as the base fertilizers would dissolve slowly

[Tanzy]

If the base fert is dissolving slowly, iron is entering the water, it will also kick start the filamentatous green algae in the tank. Actually I am not too sure if any soluble and usable iron is actually released by the base fert, I always thought it is only roots that absorb iron from base fert.

Anyway, tests have been done on Miracle Mud to show that is has the same composition as garden dirt and it has never seen the sea before. I'm not sure if it is really worth the money.