AquaFuge Pro Sump Setup-Opinions Wanted On Modified Setup

[Umbra_Vipera]

I should be receiving an AquaFuge Pro today.


http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/Umbra_Vipera/AquariumPhotos/AquaFugePro.jpgThe unit that I purchased came off of Ebay as a customer return due to some damage to the unit. Mainly, one of the cross braces (light support) is broke off, and there is a crack in the acrylic. From the photos I saw, the crack is in one of the chamber dividers inside the tank. Needless to say, I'm going to be using some Weld-On to make repairs. No big deal there.





My question is about the setup of the sump. Which of the following three ways would everyone recommend I setup the sump?
A) Leave the setup as is and put in place a deep sand bed
B) Leave the setup as is and put a rock rubble layer with a benthic zone under it
C) Modify the sump to divide center section in half to include a deep sand bed on one side and a rock rubble with benthic zone on the otherThis is going to be setup for a 75 gallon unit that will contain LR, live sand, and at this point two fish. The recommended flow through the unit is only around 400-600 gph (which isn't a problem as I only have 1" drain line.) The measurements of the unit I believe are 32" L x 12" W x 14.5" T.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[Riverserver]

I say put in a mixed particle sized sand bed of about 4" - that would include .2-2mm sand and some various sized crush coral pieces mixed. And of course have a macro algae, like chaeto, in the main chamber as well. In that last bit I would stick a sponge pre-filter on the return pipe and fill it with live rock pieces and rubble.

[fsn77]

I would do either A or B, but not C (both together). I'm a little torn as to which I would do myself, as it's a pretty small area to have an effective deep sand bed (in terms of actual sand volume and the amount of space that would be left on top of the sand for macroalgae). Either way, you'll definitely benefit from growing macro in it.

[Umbra_Vipera]

Thanks for the input. It seems that my situation may change a little. I made the mistake of talking to a guy the other day about aquiring some used pumps and along with the deal I'm getting a Lifereef sump. Supposedly it's an LF1-150 so I may have other options available.