other options for a fuge would include Garf Grunge, Miracle Mud, Kent Mud, so on... I think there is some debate, but it seems that 'mudders' in general have a high opinion of 'mud filters' (which is a fuge running something like miracle mud) I would speculate (note speculate as I haven't used any of these products) that Garf Grunge and or Grunge Plus probably carries the best bang for it's buck as it is supposed to come with mini-stars, copepods, amphipods, mysid shrimp and other fauna, in addition to the all important bacterial composition you usually get from live sand. you could also get live sand from your established tank, or from someone elses established tank, or do both...

Lots of options! If your interested in the garf stuff, I think it is www.garf.org... I think (stress think) marine depot may sell miracle mud, but I am not sure. I haven't seen it locally. I also suspect you will need to start off with a high load of macro algae with any of these options, there is speculatoin that for instance, miracle mud is high in iron, which is why it fules macro algae growth so well... I don't know if anyone knows for sure. do some google searches, I think, just like DSB debates, you will find lots of interesting data on both sides.