[prow]

i am getting ready to set up my 130gal reef tank. my tank is 72x18x20ish ish meaning its really 21. i will have live rock and sand. lighting is going to be 3x175w 10k metal halide and 2 96w atinic pcs. i have a bioball set up and want to add a 20-30gal refuge inline with the bioballs. the over flow for the bioballs is built into the tank and stand with the overflow in the upper corner of the tank. so when you add water to the tank the overflow begins.now for my questions i want to set up the refuge with mud and caulerpa. to do this i will be using a seperate 20-30 drill holes for in and out flow and let the flow go through the bioballs into the refuge and out to the tank via 1200gph pump. will this set up be good or is the pump to much or not enough.also any ideas for the light for this refuge with the mud and caulpera. would a reg flouesent atinic buld do or should i get pc.any advice anyone has would very helpful.

[The R/C Man]

Welcome to RL!

First try to use the largest tank you can fit under your stand for the fuge. The macro algae is a great nutrient export... If the the bio balls are fully submersed "wet" and are used to help airiate the water then it my be benificial to keep them. Using them "dry" can cause problems raising the nitrate levels in the tank. So in that case you should consider removing them. Most sumps use baffles for the water to pass over to help eminate micro bubbles from returning to the display tank. 1200gph shouldn't be a problem. Niether would using a standard bulb for the fuge. I was using a grow light for a long time and it worked great. I did have some heat issues with it though. I have recently change to a mini 50/50 power compact. It produces less heat and more light... It also screws into a standard socket.... I hope that helped some....

[prow]

thanks for the advice. and sorry for my spelling grammer ect.. my typing is really bad. i type the whole sentence but never look at the monitor i just read my first post anyway i can fit up to 100gal refuge but think that will not be needed for my 130 gal. i am thinking 50gal refuge. the bioballs will be under the water line in a 20gal sump. i will aslo be adding some bioball after the the refuge. i plan on using miracle mud and growing a salad of the various types of caulerpa. the big question is how many inches of mud should i use.

[The R/C Man]

prow,

I only use a maxium of two inches. I am not convinced that a DSB will not crash over time. I do know that if you have fish in your tank or sump that likes to stir up the bed that it can release (for lack of a better term) "toxins" into the tank. I have been running 1 1/2" of sand in my display and about the same for the mud in my sump. My tank has been runing for 2yrs now and everything is thriving... Hope that helps.

[SPasse]

Prow,

My last system was a “miracle mud” based refugium system.

Check out my website for details.

http://www.spasse.homestead.com/Old180Gallon.html

Regards,

Scott