[Lbannie]

Hi! I'm going to mbuna cichlids after being in salt for a few years. I have a 90 gallon reef tank with sump.
There is a section in the middle of sump I'm thinking of using a refugium with plants like guppy grass. Should I also put some holey rock rubble in there? Would that be beneficial? Or just the plants.
If you're looking at sump water comes in left side into filter sock and the return pump is the last section on right.
Any advice?

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[Auballagh]

I'm really not much of a fan of those little in-sump, plant Refugium things.
- The location is usually underneath the tank down inside the stand. Makes it really tough and just downright awkward to do any maintenance work. With plants, you will need to keep an eye on things pretty regularly. Easy access to the plants will help to ensure success.
- Too small of space = Not enough plants to do much good. You need sufficient plant bio-mass to hopefully achieve all of the NITRATE Reducing benefits, that make it worthwhile in attempting the plant Refugium in the first place. I mean seriously, how big is that sump? 20 gallons? Maybe 30? And then you subdivide that up into a little box - inside the little box - for your plants? Nope.
- Humidity. Your plants will do best if given an open space above them. In that enclosed space inside your tank stand you're gonna need a fan inside there to keep the humidity and moisture from mildewing out your stand. This is not good.
- That is a good looking sump! Designed to provide biological filtration for your aquarium - that sump needs to be filled with some kind of bio-media in the middle box area. NOT Plants!
-
This recent posting thread may help to inform,

https://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/vie ... 0&t=455463

And, there are a lot of different ways to achieve some planted tank benefits without resorting to well, a Planted Tank. And unfortunately, In-tank plants are not always a possibility with plant-eating/plant-destroying Cichlids lurking in the aquarium.

 

[Lbannie]

I'm really not much of a fan of those little in-sump, plant Refugium things.
- The location is usually underneath the tank down inside the stand. Makes it really tough and just downright awkward to do any maintenance work. With plants, you will need to keep an eye on things pretty regularly. Easy access to the plants will help to ensure success.
- Too small of space = Not enough plants to do much good. You need sufficient plant bio-mass to hopefully achieve all of the NITRATE Reducing benefits, that make it worthwhile in attempting the plant Refugium in the first place. I mean seriously, how big is that sump? 20 gallons? Maybe 30? And then you subdivide that up into a little box - inside the little box - for your plants? Nope.
- Humidity. Your plants will do best if given an open space above them. In that enclosed space inside your tank stand you're gonna need a fan inside there to keep the humidity and moisture from mildewing out your stand. This is not good.
- That is a good looking sump! Designed to provide biological filtration for your aquarium - that sump needs to be filled with some kind of bio-media in the middle box area. NOT Plants!
-
This recent posting thread may help to inform,

https://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/vie ... 0&t=455463

And, there are a lot of different ways to achieve some planted tank benefits without resorting to well, a Planted Tank. And unfortunately, In-tank plants are not always a possibility with plant-eating/plant-destroying Cichlids lurking in the aquarium.

Thank you!! I'll look at that thread.
That's kind of what I was thinking, putting bio media in the middle section, like ceramic balls or rock rubble. Then I thought the guppy grass would be good in there too. I guess maybe not.
Definitely don't want plants in the main tank.
When I had the salt tank I had chaeto in that section and it rolled nicely with the water flow.

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[karpomatic1]

Hi! I'm going to mbuna cichlids after being in salt for a few years. I have a 90 gallon reef tank with sump.
There is a section in the middle of sump I'm thinking of using a refugium with plants like guppy grass. Should I also put some holey rock rubble in there? Would that be beneficial? Or just the plants.
If you're looking at sump water comes in left side into filter sock and the return pump is the last section on right.
Any advice?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have 2 blocks from CerMedia in the sump for my 220. I also have bags filled with lava rock from the hardware store.