Deep Sand Bed?

Namor

Namor

Reefing newb
Ok, working on 40 gallon after the winter snow disaster and have been doing a little more reading, I pulled the live rock out to "recure" in a seperate system while I removed a "lot" of detritus from teh tank from all the die off. Here's my question, should I go to a deep sand bed? I keep reading a lot about them and it seems that they are good, I was thinking about 4-6 inches. What type of maintenance do they need? I heard conflicting advice, vacuum, don't vacuum, ect. Also to stay away from big sand sifters with them. Any info would be appreciated.
Also, in simple terms, can somone tell me what a "plenum" is? I have the word thrown around a lot, and even in Reef Aquariums volume 3 I think I read about them, but can't find the section detailing them.
 
a plenum is a system of ridged plastic underneath the tank that is supposed to help oxygenate the sand bed and stuff. It is totally unnecessary to have. some people like to set one down and have an undergravel filter there, but it gets clogged and worthless. Skip it.

As for the DSB, I have heard conflicting advice as well. no one I know locally runs one because if the sand does get disturbed, you can have another cycle. You should not vacuum a DSB. I don't think they are worth the loss of space in the tank. I am a fan of having more room for my fish to swim and my 1.5 inch bed does great and I have that much more room for my fish to swim. I personally do not like the look of the tank with the DSB, but it is a personal choice for you

-Doc
 
DSBs are usually deeper than 4 to 6 inches. A lot of people swear by them, but it seems as though tanks cannot survive long term with DSBs. They tend to crash after several years, "old tank syndrome". No one really knows why. If you don't plan on keeping this tank up and running for 5 years plus, then I don't think you have anything to worry about. But, like Marco said, the sand takes up a lot of space that could otherwise hold water, rock...and fish. What a lot of people do is have a regular sand bed in their display tank, and run a remote DSB in their fuge. That's what I do. The depth of the sand in my display tank is 2 to 4 inches, and I have up to 8 inches in my fuge in some places.
 
Doc didn't get it quite right with the plenum(Jaubert method).

A plenum is an area of open water under a deep sand bed.Its usually several layers of different size sand grains,mesh and eggcrate to keep fauna/sand from entering the void of anerobic bacteria that lives in the O2 deprived water below the mesh.The method is too strict and has to much room for error.I tried it 8 years ago and didn't get any meaningful results.I would avoid it.

There are pros and cons to a deep sand bed

Pros...good natural nitrate reduction(NNR).It maybe beneficial for some burrowing fish and fauna(worms,pods).That in it self can pose a problem if they bury to deep and disturb the anerobic area.

Cons...its ugly for one.It also has a reduce life cycle.I've read that its only good for so long then it needs to be replace otherwise you get what Biff mentioned ''old tank syndrome''.

With that all being said some people swear by them.I prefer to keep a DSB in the fuge where there's more control.I keep the DT around 2'' cause its much more easier to maintain.The chose is yours,good luck.
 
So really the only benefit is a reduction in nitrate with a possible increase of some fauna? Is it the same basic fauna as found in a fuge? And don't regular water changes get rid of most of your nitrate problems?

So far I don't see any real positives to the deep sand bed.

:shock: Why is everything in this hobby such a guessing game :frustrat:
 
Your going to have fauna rather the sand bed is 1'' or 6''.More sand,more area,more micro algae,more fauna.

IMO,it would take to many water changes to keep nitrates at zero without some kind of NNR.Thats where live rock,DSB in a fuge and macro algae like chaeto in a fuge comes in.Even a 2'' sand bed has some NNR.

I know one aquarist might say one thing and another say something entirely different.Ultimately,your going to have to find out what works best for you.
 
DSBs have always been effective at nitrate c0ntr0l/iliminati0n f0r my systems. Anything 0ver 4 inches with a res0nable am0unt 0f surface area will w0rk. I keep them rem0te in a sump and usually change them 0ut 0nce a year with a t0tal sump cleaning thus eliminating any crash p0tential.

IM0 far m0re effective at nitrate c0ntr0l than macr0 alga's and y0u d0nt have t0 light it.
 
if you paid attention, you would know that his keyboard is broken and he ain't got any other choice

-Doc
 
Yeah he said that his O key fell off and he's been having to use the 0 key instead. God, don't you read all the posts?!?!?! Shameful.
 
yeah. the ability to read without pictures and following with a finger tends to lead to my ability to read and respond to posts faster. I suggest "hooked on phonics", it did wonders for my 6 year-old ;)

-Doc
 

Similar threads

Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
652
Mike
Mike
Sashimi
75G LPS 2.0
Replies
2
Views
2K
Sashimi
Sashimi
Sashimi
75 gallon LPS 2.0 suggestions
Replies
0
Views
2K
Sashimi
Sashimi
Kelli1120
Cyanobacteria
Replies
3
Views
2K
Rcpilot
Rcpilot
A
Starfish crisis!
Replies
1
Views
2K
Becky
Becky
Back
Top