setup of an ecosystem

[reefmut]

well i finally got the custom built 30 gal refugium /ecostem to go under my current 55. water from the tank flows through a small bio ball area to break up organis then enters into the refugium area that i belives is about 20 gal. the water then overflows into an air trap section then into the in sump pump section then back to the main tank. I am currently awaiting the miracle mudd before i place in the calupera. my question is what type of lighting will be ok and also do you mix the miracle mudd with other types of substrate ?? i would like some type of deep sand bed about 4" if not alittle deeper. also i have read that people on this board still run uv sterilizers and skimmers with their refugiums, i took all of those devices out what are the pros and cons. A freind of mine has an ecosystem on his 240 for about a year and it looks great. also he said it was more low maintence, as if there was such a thing in this hobby...but any input from those of you with ecosystems or that have tried them would be appreciated.

 

[reefmut]

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[Kaliman]

The standard lighting for the larger Ecosystem sumps is (2) 18Watt PC's. Anything comparable to this should do. As for the substrate, Ecosystems recommends a 2" depth. I don't see why you can't add some oolitic sand like Aragonite to make it deeper, but not too much. One of the important things to remember with an Ecosystems sump is that the water needs to flow over the top of the mud at about an 8 inch depth, this provides more contact with the mud, thus promoting its suspension. As far as the UV sterilizer and skimmer I would wait and see how your water quality is, if you need them use them. Supposedly you do not need a skimmer with the Ecosystems. I have had mine running for a couple of weeks now so I cannot comment on this need.