Sandbed vs. Gravel Refugium vs. UV sterilizer

[seriousdude5]

Which is better I want to go sand bed with a refugium but I hear sand doesnt allow much water flow so should I mix it with arinite maybe? Also would you recommed a refugium or a uv sterilizer I want the refuge because I heard UV Sterilizers take nutirents out of the water let me know thanx.

[leebca]

Welcome to Reef Central.

You might do better with your questions if they were split up and more specific.

UV is not a question of "UV or Refugium." The two are not competitiive. The UV doesn't remove organics, it 'cooks' them by light energy. The refugium is a refuge of plants and/or organisms that, if they were in the display tank, would be destroyed, eaten or killed by the display creatures.

By careful choice of what to put into the refugium, you can extract organics, nitrates, phosphates, and a variety of 'end products' from the creatures in the display tank(s). Or, you can put in the reugium pods to feed upon some wastes and then become food for the creatures in the display tank.