Caribsea Mineral Mud or Live Sand for a HOB Refugium
 

I am setting a Refugium
Which one of the above? Also Which algae; Chaeto, Culearpa?
Also recommendations on Lighting period very much welcome!
THANKS A LOT

With respect to substrate in your refugium, I would use both. Miracle Mud provides a fine silt to be home to worms, but it is not alive. Some MM is a source of iron. In my mud/macro refugium, I used FORM (funky old reef mud) and an iron rich substrate from Seachem. Live sand brings in diversity of bacteria and detrivores.

Depends on the quality of the live sand, but if you are limited to only one of the two, live sand is the winner.

Live sand on top or at the bottom?
Thanks a lot

Display Macro Lagoon
 

I would put live sand on top of mud. Eventually that is the way it will strataphy. I assume the live sand will be a mixture of fine to course. If there are worms in the live sand, they will migrate to fine silt or mud. Pods will seek out larger pebbles or holy rock. You get more bang for the buck with your HOB by leaving out the macro and not dealing with the lights. Just fill up mud on bottom, live sand next then fill to the max with rubble. This would be a cryptic zone filtration refugium with sponges and pods.

To grow macro for your tangs, set up a seperate remote refugium for macro and pods. If you have room to set up side by side, make it a display macro lagoon.