As promised. I do like the shapes by far but for the prices, I could have got almost triple the rock from Gulf Liverock. This was a little Under 20lbs I believe.Pics when you get it, please
I plan to leave it unfiltered. All the water will drain into this liverock bin prior to going into the sump and through filter sock/media.
Go easy on Phyto. Start at a very low dose and see how the system reacts.
Lately I have been thinking about Cryptic sump vs Refugium with Algae. My algae is not doing so hot Chaeto algae is slowly dying, but my cryptic sum is doing great, it is full of Aiptasia, pods and mushrooms. I have CB controlling Aiptasia, no worries here. The odd thing is my SPS coloring up nicely, and growth is good to great, I wonder if bio diversity is more important than algae for nutrient control.
In my opinion the simple answer is "yes". For systems that have lots of organisms that use nitrogen (particularly corals), having organisms that compete for organic compounds rather than inorganic nitrogen is a good thing. However, diversity in and of itself is not the end goal. The goal is to create diverse nutrient pathways, and a food web that benefits all the organisms that comprise them. A cryptic fuge can provide an environment for lots of organisms that contribute to the pathways and food web to help them grow. Additionally, and again in my opinion, there are easier and more controllable ways to deal with excessive nitrogen than relying on macroalgae.
Is this rock/sump chamber normally lit?
Very cool. I know you started off planning a true cryptic sump but wasn't sure how it turned out.
I’ve been debating this back and forth still. I may just leave the lid off the tub and let it get overflow light from the tank but it’s deep enough that the bottom half of the rock won’t see light anyways.
