When to start a refug

Hello all,

I am getting ready to start a new 75 gallon build. I purchased a 75 gallon pre-drilled with overflow tank from a buddy. Comes with stand and sump. The stand is trash and the sump is to small. I will be selling the sump and trashing the stand. I purchased this for 125. since nothing is really selling on craigslist right now I plan on using my old 50 gallon tank as the sump.

I will be doing a classic sump with fuge 3 sections total. Skimmer on one side, return in the middle, and refuge on the far side. The fuge will be te'ed off the main drain with a ball value to control the flow into the fuge.

My question is, when starting a new tank when do you start the fuge setup. Right at the beginning so its running during the cycle or wait until after the cycle is complete then set up the fuge.

 

I did mine from day 1 and didn't have any issues with it.

 

there is no "correct time" i believe, do it from day one. avoid live sand

 

Why avoid live sand? Most people that I know have live deep sand bed.

 

I personally think the sump/refu should be cleaned once a year, live sand makes this harder. Also I believe te most filtering is done by the bacteria on the live rocks and not so much the Sand bed. Just my opinion

 

I personally think the sump/refu should be cleaned once a year together with all the filtering systems present in the sump, live sand makes this process a little harder. Also I believe the most filtering is done by the bacteria on the live rocks and not so much the Sand bed. Just my opinion