Building a better refugium

[Hammer]

First a little back ground. I currently have a 80 gallon tank with a 6" DSB. mixed particle sizes that actually matches pretty close to what you recommend. And a 29 gallon refugium with a 4" DSB, lots of macro algeas, and lots of water flow.
I have old dead acro skeletons sticking out of the sand, and the macro's grow above this level. This also leaves a low current situation nearer the sand bed. I have approxiamtely 1200 GPH going through this refugium, and have a LOT of life so far in it's 6 to 7 month life span.
I am in the planning stages for my next setup, and seeing how my current setup does well, I want the next one to excel.
My first plans are to get either a 100 or 150 gallon Rubbermaid trough. Putting in about a 12" or so DSB. I have also toyed with the idea of adding 'mud'. Not miracle mud, but maybe some from tidal flats on the coast.
I really like the idea of having a lot of flow because it has a better chance to deposit more detritus in the refugium, and has just worked better for me so far.
I have a couple big questions though. Are there any benifits to deeper sand beds? Asthetics are of little importance here, so whatever is best is what I will do.
And how can I 'superfeed' the micro life in the refugium? I currently put a lot of frozen foods in a blender and make a slurry of many different sizes. And also add DT's to the mix (among a lot of other things). I feed heavy twice a day. And I have had a lot of growth in the life in my refugium. So is there anything in particular I could do to stimulate increased growth in the refugium? All the spawning of reproduction of life in the refugium can only be good for feeding the main tank (going to be larger as well).

I know this is a relatively loaded question, but would like a little insight on how deep I should make the sand bed, and possibly super feeding the refugium to gain additional life and food.
My goal has always been to create a invironment of system that tries to continue the natural cycle that happens in the ocean.

Thanks

[rshimek]

Hi Hammer,

You say, "Are there any benifits to deeper sand beds? Asthetics are of little importance here, so whatever is best is what I will do."

The only reason I can think of to have a bed over about 8 inches in depth is if you have very large organisms or deep burrowing organisms to live in it. In those cases, it would make sense to do so, as we generally have neither, I think one reaches a point of diminishing returns at about 8 inches depth.

"And how can I 'superfeed' the micro life in the refugium? I currently put a lot of frozen foods in a blender and make a slurry of many different sizes. And also add DT's to the mix (among a lot of other things). I feed heavy twice a day. And I have had a lot of growth in the life in my refugium. So is there anything in particular I could do to stimulate increased growth in the refugium? All the spawning of reproduction of life in the refugium can only be good for feeding the main tank (going to be larger as well). "

It sounds like to me, that you are doing a really good job as it stands. If you want to do more, just do more of the same, or figure a way to feed continously.

Sounds like an impressive system!! :D