Deep Sand Beds

[bkv1997]

I personally don't have any signs of stress in my tank and everything is doing wonderful, but that doesn't stop me from testing my water parameters.

I have never had an issue, but my nitrates always fluctuate from around 1ppm to 20ppm. This has really been ignored on my part for the simple reason everything was doing well so why bother it. Recently thouhg I have had (8 months) two Acropora hyanctis maybe i spelled that wrong, but commonly refered to as Table Top Acropora that were wild colonies that seem to do fine for about 3-4 months then start to fade off.

My thoughts is the wild colonies aren't use to those high nitrates and they simply cant handle the higher levels of nitrate.

So here is where my journey began into researching ways to remove nitrate effectively, keeping in mind I have a limited space and will even be more limited in the tank i'm upgrading to.

1) Refugium with calurpa or cheato works well, but requires a large volume of water, 5% of my main tank isn't goign to give me much of a result.
2) denitrification systems... might work, but have read maybe a couple to many horror stories about sulfure hydroxide due to salt creep or a hose getting plugged and causing the drip rate to slow down to much. (to much of a risk here for me)
3) Deep Sand Bed - easy to do, but unsightly.

So here we are at the deep sand bed.

Here are a list of my question?

1) Does anyone here have a sand bed between 4-6" in depth and with a partical size of sand around .2 millimeters (sugar size sand)?
2) Does anyone just have a deep sand bed in a small refugium type tank and does it keep the nitrates less than 1ppm?

Lets keep this thread about deep sand beds, I know water changes can lower nitrates and that I should feed less. The problem is I will and always will do water changes, but they still can't keep nitrates at the levels found in nature. I do 25% every two weeks. Plus, I don't believe in not feeding my animals as a method of reducing nitrate.

So i guess I'm at the point where i'm wondering what portion of the tank needs to be a DSB? Can i get away with just the 20 gallon refuge being a DSB? Or do I need to have my custom stand built so that the tank sits 3 inches down, so the unsightly appearnce of the DSB isn't visible?

Any thoughts suggestions or discussions in or related to this topic would be helpful.

Good articles if you are interested:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...st2003/chem.htm
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

Thanks
Brandon

 

[Chris]

Well my 125 has a 30 gallon refuge with macro algea and a 6 inch dsb. My 55 had a 10 gallon refuge. Both worked for me at keeping nitrates at 0 as long as you don't have to many fishes. Well those are my results anyways.

P.S. I am notorious for not making water changes. So I know they work well.

 

[bkv1997]

I think my issue is my coral load people dont realize that corals give off waste also. I have seen my big red brain take a :pooh: bigger than any fish i have.

So i don't know if you can always blame it on the fish. Yea I'm going to add a DSB and refug as part of my next tank even if it is only 10 gallons, not much room under a 92 gallon :(.

Brandon

 

[Chris]

We can all give your tank a big EYE when we come over for the meeting this weekend. :)

 

[bkv1997]

Just one thing... don't look at the poor little purple tang...

Angela wanted it, I knew better but I bought the purple fish anyways...

Well three days later i'm debating if i should give him the humane ending before the flame angel polishes him off slowly, but that poor little guy is eating like a champ for not having any fins left.

Maybe i should take bets if the stressed out fish will get ich and make all my fish sick.

Did you get the file for the membership cards Chris?

Thanks
Brandon

 

[Chris]

nope, not yet

 

[Pterois]

Have you considered clams? They're nitrate sponges.

I have a maxima clam and I grow macro algae (monthly pruning) behind my rockwork inside the display tank to keep my nitrates under control. I was at 40, and now staying under 5. I don't have a dsb or refugium.

Just a thought.

 

[tangboy]

dsb

I think a dsb looks just fine, especially if it serves a purpose. Now, I want to find a good clam for a 55 gal. I didn't know they lowered nitrates. Thanks.
Burney

 

[jhnrb]

The articles I have posted on sand beds and DSB should answer all of your questions. weather to install one or not is a personal issue. depends on what you are trying to accomplish and the animals that you intend to keep. with sand beds though, you will need some stirrers, and substrait cleaners to keep all working good. I do not support the plenum concept as the data of the initial system was based on an open system, not a closed system. anyways check out the sand bed articles and see if your questions are not answered there, and if not you will be much more informed to have a discussion on the subject. Ive had a 6" deep sand bed and this time around it will be 4". I was not impressed with the 6" depth and had haunting water quality problems that keep me on my toes, became more of a chore than fun and so 4" max. with reef select aragonite is what ive decided to go with for the final system. Deep enough for the burrowers and not too deep for the stirrers. hope something here helps.

 

[bkv1997]

I wouldn't count on clams to reduce nitrate.

I have two one large and one medium... They do like nitrates present in the water, but don't think they remove it to the levels most hobiest need.