deep sand bed have it or not?

buttered loins

buttered loins

GO SPRINGBOKS!!!!
Jul 9, 2007
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Wollongong, Sydney, Australia
Hey
I was just wondering if i should put a deep sand bed in my tank or rather just a thin in layer in front like i have now. if you think a deep sand bed should i put it every including under the rocks?
 
What are you keeping as far as corals go. SPS tanks tend to do better with bare bottom on the average, if you put a dsb in I would not put it under your rock work because if you have or get any sand diggers they could cause a rock slide if you put you rock on top of the DSB IMO. I have done both and I prefer DSB and as far as SPS I have seen some very nice SPS tanks with a DSB but it doesnt tend to be the norm.
 
I am going with a floating reef on my tank and doing a DSB on the entire tank. The rocks will be suspended via PVC 6" above the bottom of the tank, that way I can maximize my area for the DSB and not have to worry about rockslides.
 
Having a deep sand is all about preference and what type of fish or inverts you would like to house. I am sure any future digging/burrowing inverts/fish would appreciate a DSB. I really like Ace's suggestion about using PVC pipe. You leave more surface area for the live rock to do its work and look nice. I didn't end up using one of my favorite live rock pieces in my 5G because the sand bed almost completely hid it.
 
I prefer to have a deep sand bed. I didn't build any sort of structure to support the LR, I have the rock sitting all the way down on the bottom of the tank, then filled in the sand around it. In the 40g that's still in process of being set up, I put a piece of eggcrate on the bottom of the tank before putting the rock in, to keep the rock from creating any sharp pressure points on the glass.
 
fsn77 said:
I prefer to have a deep sand bed. I didn't build any sort of structure to support the LR, I have the rock sitting all the way down on the bottom of the tank, then filled in the sand around it. In the 40g that's still in process of being set up, I put a piece of eggcrate on the bottom of the tank before putting the rock in, to keep the rock from creating any sharp pressure points on the glass.
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Eggcrate is a good idea. Not many people mention it. Thanks.:idea:
 
A deep sand bed is extremely helpful, especially if you are going to do SPS corals. SPS tend to thrive in waters with 0 nitrAte.. Over 5 ppm and issues start. The deep sand bed will provide an area for de-nitrification to occur, thus removing the nitrAte from the water...

Many SPS dominated tanks that you see that are bare-bottom (the increased flow would blow all the sand around), will most likely have a RDSB (remote deep sand bed) somewhere, whether its in their sump, or attached via a bucket somewhere else. If you go bare bottom, it is harder to keep your nitrates down, which is why many BB reefers employ a RDSB.
 
ooja3k said:
A deep sand bed is extremely helpful, especially if you are going to do SPS corals. SPS tend to thrive in waters with 0 nitrAte.. Over 5 ppm and issues start. The deep sand bed will provide an area for de-nitrification to occur, thus removing the nitrAte from the water...

Many SPS dominated tanks that you see that are bare-bottom (the increased flow would blow all the sand around), will most likely have a RDSB (remote deep sand bed) somewhere, whether its in their sump, or attached via a bucket somewhere else. If you go bare bottom, it is harder to keep your nitrates down, which is why many BB reefers employ a RDSB.
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Not entirely true according to Anthony Calfo


Actually according to Anthony Calfo this weekend we were talking about the nutritional needs of Corals. You are right SPS are primarily photosythetic. About 70% of their nutritional needs are from light. They need nitrogen though and this can not be provided by light no matter how much is provided. This is where "fish poop" comes in, it provides Nitrate in the system and this is the source of nitrogen for the Corals. Levels of 2-4 are what he personally recommends in a system. If true zero levels are achieved the Corals will have washed out colors and not the deep bright colors. This is discussing SPS Corals primarily.
 
archer772 said:
Not entirely true according to Anthony Calfo


Actually according to Anthony Calfo this weekend we were talking about the nutritional needs of Corals. You are right SPS are primarily photosythetic. About 70% of their nutritional needs are from light. They need nitrogen though and this can not be provided by light no matter how much is provided. This is where "fish poop" comes in, it provides Nitrate in the system and this is the source of nitrogen for the Corals. Levels of 2-4 are what he personally recommends in a system. If true zero levels are achieved the Corals will have washed out colors and not the deep bright colors. This is discussing SPS Corals primarily.
Click to expand...

word
 
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