Topic of the Week August 28 - Deep Sand Beds

[billyr98]

This week will be about Deep Sand beds...

I run a barebottom tank, so I have no opinon, except, I wish I had sand for looks!

It looks ugly with coraline glass bottom

So everyone out there - CONVINCE me to change!

[Charlie97L]

i have a dsb... about 3". sometimes it looks good, sometimes it doesn't. i would say, if you do get one, get as fine sand as you can. i have aragonite, and even that is a little big for my tastes.

however, it does help keep the nitrates down considerable. also allows you to have cooooool burrowy snails and sea stars.

to the naysayers who harp on it being a nitrate trap. well, a dsb is something that needs maintenance, just like EVERY other part of your tank. slowly changing it up is a good thing, and i mean, honestly, who among us doesn't do a tank overhaul once every 2-3 years? come onnnn. that's the ideal time to swap the sand. just watch your params when you are doing maintenance on it, and be ready to do a water change if things get skewed when it's stirred up.

i love it. there's sand in nature, we're approximating nature. do it.

[Gina]

We had a Deap Sand bed on our first tank. It wasn't up long enough to be a problem though. I wanted to go BB but, Mark can't stand the look of it so, I comprimised and we have a shallow sand bed with our present set up.

[Charlie97L]

i think, really, like gina said, a ssb can be the best, if you don't have to have sand critters. it's easy to replace, gives the aesthetic look, and you don't have nitrate issues.

[cheeks69]

I have a DSB and like it especially for it's NNR ability and the accompanying diversity of infauna which not only helps keep the top layer well oxygenated but also makes it work properly, but acquiring the infauna can be difficult, it won't just migrate from the LR as many people think. Also having good flow is very important so that detritus won't accumulate in certain spots. I think that people tend to overfeed and overpopulate their tanks and think the DSB will perform miracles, it has it's limits.


My main concern with the DSB is that PO4 will eventually to bind to it and once saturated will cause algae problems and possibly inhibit calcification of Stony Corals. My tank is only a 93 gallon so if I need to replace it it'll be a PITA but doable but in a larger tank may be an enormous task.

[Stevenmi]

cheeks...very good points!

And some tanks (tall tanks) also have a smaller ratio to water volume/surface area for function and will have a smaller bio-load capacity with all other things being equal.

I would opt for a dsb in a 40 short before I would use a dsb in a 40 tall
as an example:
30x12x=360x3" =1080 cubic in
36x18=648x3"=1944 cubic in

Quite an increase

Steve

[billyr98]

well how about if I add a DSB to my refugium.. will I can everything I would get in the show tank?

[Craig Manoukian]

DSBs, no matter where they are located in the system require turnover or stirring for proper maintenace and performance. Most people to not have the right maintenance crew for this. Scarlet Hermits, Nassaurius snails, polycheates, and conches make very reef safe sand stirrers and must be kept in sufficient numbers to properly aerate the DSB.

My 80 gallon display was moderately stocked with tangs, clowns, gobies, wrasses and soft corals. After three years I broke it down and the DSB was in fabulous shape. Sand smelled just like the beach with no sulfur smell at all.

Cheatomorpha algea is also good in a system to remove nitrates and phosphates.

HTH

[Woodstock]

I think we first should define SSB and DSB.
Shallow Sand Beds to me are around 2-4";
Deep Sand Beds are 4.5"+

IME, a SSB using a fine aragonite sand works great. Not only is it appealing, but its Natural NitrAte Reduction properties are wonderful! I agree that changing out very small portions of the sand bed every so often is a good idea. A specific sand-bed clean up crew is also important for keeping the top layer (1/2") stirred. I use cerith, nassarius and scarlet hermits as well as an occassional light-vacuuming during a water change.

[Charlie97L]

ahhh. ok then i have a ssb. about 3".

craig, how many snails/hermits/conchs would you recommend for a 3" in a 58 gallon (36x18). i have 2 scarlets, and about 8-9 nass. snails. and one bugger of a fireworm. he stirs too.

[cheeks69]

Originally Posted by billyr98

well how about if I add a DSB to my refugium.. will I can everything I would get in the show tank?

Yes it can work and work very well. Anthony Calfo had a thread at RC a while back about DSB in a bucket that you could easily remove from the system if it became problematic...a remote DSB would work the same way. I have a DSB in my sump, it's a small area but I believe is contributing to NR.

[sasquatch]

Ah the other great debate has begun,I love my dsb in the display,its a great place to put more critters and soon grows into a never ending suprise of life forms I didnt buy!!! Only thing I dont like is the exposed sand face at the glass line but thats easy to cover with a bit of trim.Has anybody seen a split bottom, show side sand and bb under the rock? would really like to try this but man what a major job

[Frankie]

I had a dsb in my old 90. It looked very nice and did its job. Now i have a bb tank and am VERY happy. The flow i have now and cleanliness i would not be able to have with sand in the tank. But i do miss the sand look. Mines not so bad looking a bb with the bottom painted black. Now that the coraline is starting to grow on it, its getting to look nice.

[billyr98]

Originally Posted by cheeks69

Yes it can work and work very well. Anthony Calfo had a thread at RC a while back about DSB in a bucket that you could easily remove from the system if it became problematic...a remote DSB would work the same way. I have a DSB in my sump, it's a small area but I believe is contributing to NR.

Thanks Robert.. I read a while back about the bucket method... Maybe I could add a rubbermaid with just sand instead of a bucket.. I will keep everyone posted!

[Cartman89]

I've got maybe 3'' sand bed? What else is there to say...hmm...um... yeah there's snails that live in it...hmm....it consits of argonite reef sand and sugar fine sand.