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ReefLady · 12-31-2003, 02:42 PM

Tom,

AFAIK, the "benefits" of sand are purely dentrification and increased biodiversity.

I personally think that the idea of a DSB adding stability to pH has been proved to be bunk -- along with the old thought that it would buffer ca/alk. In order for ca/alk to be buffered with aragonite sand, the pH would have to be so low as to harm everything in the tank.

Speaking only from experience, bare bottom tanks were very popular many many years back. This was well before the increase in sps popularity (MH lighting was not common), and as such, for most hobbyists, flow rates of 10x plus were unheard of.

As Nick said, simply arrange your rock to enable good flow throughout. You want to be able to siphon the bottom of the tank, as well as have it loosely stacked enough so that a quick run-through with a turkey baster will suspend a lot of detritus. Remember that as long as you don't overfeed, and have a decent cleanup crew, you shouldn't have an abundance of detritus.

Also - it's not as if you don't have detritus in a DSB tank - it's just that you don't notice it as much because it appears as part of the substrate.

HTH!

12-31-2003, 02:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
ReefLady Golden Moray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 2,029 View Gallery Karma Komment	Tom, AFAIK, the "benefits" of sand are purely dentrification and increased biodiversity. I personally think that the idea of a DSB adding stability to pH has been proved to be bunk -- along with the old thought that it would buffer ca/alk. In order for ca/alk to be buffered with aragonite sand, the pH would have to be so low as to harm everything in the tank. Speaking only from experience, bare bottom tanks were very popular many many years back. This was well before the increase in sps popularity (MH lighting was not common), and as such, for most hobbyists, flow rates of 10x plus were unheard of. As Nick said, simply arrange your rock to enable good flow throughout. You want to be able to siphon the bottom of the tank, as well as have it loosely stacked enough so that a quick run-through with a turkey baster will suspend a lot of detritus. Remember that as long as you don't overfeed, and have a decent cleanup crew, you shouldn't have an abundance of detritus. Also - it's not as if you don't have detritus in a DSB tank - it's just that you don't notice it as much because it appears as part of the substrate. HTH! __________________ ~ Teri -------- "You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice."