Deep Sand Bed -- Anatomy & Terminology

[Anthony.Luciano]

i need to rebuild my whole tank and i had great success with a DSB. should i add all the sand in the beginning or will it absorb ammonia or stuff like that or should i just do the initial cycle first then add the DSB.

 

[rivoth]

I would add the DSB first, then cycle.

 

[Anthony.Luciano]

ok thanks. do you think 3 inches is a good start then add a little more sand later on?

I would add the DSB first, then cycle.

 

[biecacka]

thinking about adding a remote DSB in my sump. what do i put it in? a bucket? do i put holes in the bucket? i am struggling w a little nitrate problem my tank is a 220 BB.

 

[biecacka]

capn, you said this "Carbon reactor===a must if you have corals esp softies and lps" why do you feel this is a must and what type of reactor do you use?
corey

 

[rivoth]

do you think 3 inches is a good start then add a little more sand later on?

My sand bed is six inches deep because that was needed to grow sea grasses which I have an interest in. If you don't have that requirement then I can only really say that 4 to 5 inches is the standard recommendation for a deep sand bed. I would begin with the target depth you decide on, and not plan to add any sand later unless it is to replace sand which has dissolved.

Make sure that after the tank cycles, you populate the sand with sand burrowing fauna. Sources can be a local club or your LFS. My favorite is a couple pounds of Microvert innoculated sand from Inland Aquatics. They keep making it harder to find the innoculated sand though.

 

[DownwardDawg]

My sand bed is six inches deep because that was needed to grow sea grasses which I have an interest in. If you don't have that requirement then I can only really say that 4 to 5 inches is the standard recommendation for a deep sand bed. I would begin with the target depth you decide on, and not plan to add any sand later unless it is to replace sand which has dissolved.

Make sure that after the tank cycles, you populate the sand with sand burrowing fauna. Sources can be a local club or your LFS. My favorite is a couple pounds of Microvert innoculated sand from Inland Aquatics. They keep making it harder to find the innoculated sand though.[/QUOTE]

Would this be like Garf Grunge or something similar?

 

[rivoth]

Would this be like Garf Grunge or something similar?

I don't have any experience with Garf Grunge, but the only things I've heard about it have been negative.

 

[DownwardDawg]

Ok. Just trying to understand what is "microvert innoculated sand"?

 

[Scopus Tang]

Ok. Just trying to understand what is "microvert innoculated sand"?

This just means that you have introduced a nice population of microfauna from a true live sandbed (read as "not the bags of LS you buy at the pet store that have been sitting on the shelf for God knows how long and have nothing but perhaps a little bacteria in them"). This can generally be accomplished by adding a cup or more of sand from a well established tank with a shallow or deepsand bed. Additionally pursuing certain types of fauna specifically for the sandbed such as small brittlestars may be beneficial as well. At all costs, avoid the introduction of organisms that sift through the sand hunting and consuming microfauna, such as sand-sifting seastars.

 

[DownwardDawg]

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Scopus Tang]

Thanks for the explanation.

You are more than welcome

 

[Anthony.Luciano]

is a 2-3 inch sanded good for bahama oolite sand? this stuff is smaller then sugar sized i cant even pick 1 grain out by itself thats how small it is.

 

[Sk8r]

Only one caution: sugar sand can blow about under very strong flow: I took mine out in favor of medium grade aragonite because it was irritating my lps corals; I'm liking the coarser sand much better. The oolitic is, however, beautiful sand if you have a tank that can be a little less violent than mine.

 

[Anthony.Luciano]

-____- didnt think of that lol. well i guess when i start stacking up on sps they are just going to have to live with it. or ill see if i can put the vortechs up on maximum speed to shape the sand as much as it could until its out of its blowing range i guess. but do you think its deep enough to for the anaerobic denitrification bacteria?

Only one caution: sugar sand can blow about under very strong flow: I took mine out in favor of medium grade aragonite because it was irritating my lps corals; I'm liking the coarser sand much better. The oolitic is, however, beautiful sand if you have a tank that can be a little less violent than mine.

 

[tmz]

Yes,denitrification will occur in less than an inch of sand. The bacteria involved are facultative;they use oxygen and when it runs out they turn to the O in NO3( nitrate) so depth doesn't really matter except for the obvious increase in volume with more depth but the deep areas only produce bacterial activity if there is sufficient water movement down deep to bring them organic carbon, phosphate and NO3. Some denitrifiction occurs even in the bacterial mulm. The fine sand also has more surface areas than coarser sand so in that respect it should be fine.

 

[jackryan]

I got a fairly deep sand bed in one section of my sump tank... i noticed that in one side the sand seems darkened while on the other side of the tank, it is white and clean as I put it on day 1 --- is there a good explanation for this?

The DSB has been there for almost 2 years now.

 

[tmz]

It could be sufides from hydrogen sulfide if there is not enough flow to that area or it might just be a buildup of detritus .Is there any odor?

 

[Bigwyll]

Just wanted to post a thanks for this information. I am setting my 120g and wanted to have a DSB but didnt understand the complexity of the process. Nor what to do to ensure success. This is very helpful

 

[Aquarist007]

capn, you said this "Carbon reactor===a must if you have corals esp softies and lps" why do you feel this is a must and what type of reactor do you use?
corey

sorry for the late reply
leathers especially release toxins and or growth inhibitors into the water especially when trying to take over territory from others corals close by. The also shed skin etc. Carbon removes alot of these toxins from the water.