Deep Sand Bed

[JohnMcNic]

Hello all,
Firstly I am about 1 week into my cycle (75 gal tank) and am starting to see amonia levels drop. The tank is filled with about 45 pounds of live rock, I know this isn't much and the reason I dont have more is $, so to compensate for this I have rasied the rock about 3in on PVC frames and it seems to help fill out the tank a bit. The tank is currently barebottom and I am starting to think about a substrate. I would like to do a DSB to firstly cover up the framework, and so that I may keep burrowing critters. I read a little bit of info on DSB, but not much.
Basically what I am looking for is depth I should shoot for, size of grain, brand if possible that has worked for some, and whether or not it should be live or not (I'm leaning towards live). In addition to this, when should I add the substrate; when its done cycleing, or shortly before.

Thanks a bunch!!!

John

 

[jer77]

For a deep sand bed I'd shoot for 3-6 inches depending on the grain of sand. Use some oolitic grain sand, araganite is best, for atleast the bottom 2'' or the whole thing. You can use a larger grain or the top, but not like crushed coral. I used Carib-Sea oolitic aragmax and a little arag-alive sand which is sort of live sand. There are cheaper options like silica sand too. Its good to get a little live sand to seed your sandbed, but getting all LS is not necessary. I'd add the sand now if possible, but it won't hurt to add it later.

 

[drummereef]

I would go ahead and add the substrate now if you can. I usually recommend a 4-6" depth for dsb's. Look for an aragonite sand with a grain size of 0.5-1.5mm. Caribsea makes good products. I use their Fiji Pink sand for my dsb and has worked flawlessly for years. Once the cycle has completed be sure to add a cleanup crew as they are an intregal part of the sandbed to keep it stirred. Also, flow plays a vital role as well. Shoot for at least 20x minimum turnover in the display.

 

[JohnMcNic]

Thanks guys, I'll get started on it right away!