I totally agree, Maxx. Substrates do become a phosphate trap. That's were maintenance and replacement come in.
However, the refugium with miracle Mud is just another type of substrate. So, the short of it is, we are looking at mutliple systems, compartmentalized and removed from the display to easier accomidate export of Nitrate and Phosphate with Substrate and Macroalgae or some other form of filtration. The compartmentalized Refugium enables easier maintenance of the substrate (in your case Miracle Mud) and the grooming of the Macroalgae to remove phosphate.
Mojo, I think your idea is great. Lets break down each of the systems and/or methods for filtration, evaluate the pros/cons, identify problem areas, suggest variations, and let people decide on the merits of each system and combination of systems.
Thanks for everyones input
