CUC in sump?

[AC273]

Title says it all. Built my first sump/fuge thingy.... (I say thingy because I had to get creative with the size contraints of my stand.) The middle chamber has about a 1" sand bed with flame algae. My question is, Does this area need a CUC? It seems to collect quite a bit of stuff and grow a lot of algae. Would a couple detris eating snails help the system or should the area just be pods and other micro organism?

 

[BigAl07]

I've always thought it a good idea to have a robust CUC in the sump/fuge. Especially if you see that's where a lot of the nasties (detritus etc) ends up collecting.

 

[DianaKay]

Thanks for asking, I need to follow this thread also. I had planned on placing snails in my (soon to be, in January) sump/refugium when needed and back in the DT when not. Seems like that would benefit the system as a whole.
Good topic...so, what's in your sump/fuge areas y'all??

 

[kyle4201]

I have 3 or 4 blue leg and 2 snails in mine, a bunch of feather duster looking worms,, Also the fern looking stuff, the grape looking stuff and cheeto. 3" mineral mud base, small pump to keep things moving under the overhang.

 

[whippetguy]

I have 1 zebra turbo snail, 5 hermits, 3-4 hitchhiker xanthid crabs, a couple of whelks in my fuge. Also tons of pods and micro brittle stars.

 

[Paragon]

I've always thought it a good idea to have a robust CUC in the sump/fuge. Especially if you see that's where a lot of the nasties (detritus etc) ends up collecting.

Al, does the size of your crew essentially regulate itself with the amount of available food. My concern would be if I put too many in, they will die off. That will in turn create more Phosp/Nit. Thoughts?

Para

 

[frisbee]

If you can clearly see the detritus, couldn't you just siphon it out? Solving a poop/detritus problem with something else that poops is not really the way to go IMO. Manual labor can be your best friend sometimes...

 

[landshark]

tagging along too, I just have pods, micro brittle stars and macro algae (cheato/ulva)

 

[GlassMunky]

I keep a CUC in my fuge area of the sump, but they crawl everywhere

 

[AC273]

Thanks for the info/feedback all. Looks like I am not the only one benefiting from this thread.

 

[jerry26]

i just put a new fuge online less than two months ago and i without a doubt am going to need a powerful cuc just for it. i have one snail to maintain my dt and he gets the job done but that fuge is too much for one snail.