DSB in a bucket for nitrate control

[mwood]

Is the covering of the bucket just removing light, or also removing a source of oxigen.?

I'm curious, a friend said he read that a study found high oxigen content 12' below the ocean floor. That would imply that our dsb's don't reflect what is found in nature. Can anyone confirm or contradict this?

 

[emora]

The argument surrounding anoxic metabolism is because nitrogen is consumed and hydrogen or rather hydrogen sulfide is produced. Some people are scared that one day the hydrogen sulfide will somehow escape and kill everything.

I had the opportunity to move a tank with an old established dsb with plenty of dark pockets and other purported nasty things. People had scared the dickens out of me saying it would be a catastrophe, that the system was a time bomb, and lots of other unfounded opinions. I found no rotten egg smell and suffered no deaths. Amonium, Nitrite and Nitrate levels were undetectable immediatly after the move and over the next weeks.

This direct experience motivated me to read everything I could about DSBs and the metabolic processes that take place in them. All I found was a lot of myths about bad things in DSBs and A LOT of sound science in their favour.

 

[Hobster]

This direct experience motivated me to read everything I could about DSBs and the metabolic processes that take place in them. All I found was a lot of myths about bad things in DSBs and A LOT of sound science in their favour.

Dr Ron and Anthony would certainly agree with that!

 

[km133688]

tag

 

[overanalyzer]

Is the covering of the bucket just removing light, or also removing a source of oxigen.?

Covering it to remove the light should be anough if the sand is deep enough.

I'd think you would still want some O2 conatct time with the water flow.

 

[emora]

The ones I saw running were uncovered. Just sitting next to the sump. But I have no idea what kind of results they were getting.

 

[botp2k1]

Anyone experimented yet?

 

[superedge88]

I think that since I am setting up my 220 I could give this a try without any ill effects. The only thing I can think of as a possible problem would be the cycle that would occur if I decided to take off the DSB in a bucket.

 

[mike89t]

Wouldn't the sand in the buckett eventually become like cement as the bacteria and calcium glue the sand together?

I guess it would eventually become like a giant piece of live rock shaped like a bucket.

 

[emora]

Why would the sand clump together thoughout the bucket? Dont the bacteria that cause the sand to clump live on the surface or top layer of the sand?

 

[mike89t]

Why would the sand clump together thoughout the bucket? Dont the bacteria that cause the sand to clump live on the surface or top layer of the sand?

Here is what Dr Ron has to say on the subject
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=466493&highlight=concrete

Many aquaria are saturated with dissolved mineral salts such as magnesium and calcium carbonates. In the sand bed where water flow is slow and the chemical milieu is different than in the water column, precipitation of calcium salts can cause clumping. The high pH environment you mention facilitates this clumping. In essence, in such a situation what is created is a type calcareous sandstone.

The other cause is clumping due to bacterial cementation. The bacteria in the sand bed glue the grains together with a material referred to as a glycoprotein; basically this is a material about the consistence of rock candy. Once the bacteria have bound the sediment, the minerals can also precipitate and make the binding permanent.

When one inoculates a sand bed, one needs to strive for maximum diversity of the burrowing infauna. The action of these small animals will keep the sediment rather continuously in motion and prevent the cementation. In addition to the lack of these "motivators" of sediment motion, the larger sediment particles tend to resist movement, and consequently facilitate the cementation.

Without the infauna moving throughout the sand I would assume there is nothing to keep it from clumping.

 

[threeheaddog]

Been running this application for years.

Never seen or heard of anyone else using or talking about it before reading this post.

i call it "Remote Scrubbing"


Directions:

1. Fill 5G salt bucket to within top 3" with oolitic sand

2. Cover

3. Prefilter intake

4. Swap every 1.5 to 2 years

*5G bucket treats around 50g with normal bio-load

*can unhook and test for efficiency

*buffering capacity

*cheap

 

[Hobster]

How are you prefiltering? Do you have it in a sump and then just runs over the top or how is it plumbed?

Thanks.

 

[threeheaddog]

Prefilter sponge on intake - plumbs into top - bucket is higher than tank - bulkhead drain on side to return. very simple.

Reefkeeping can be very cheap...

where can i get an expet opinion on this?

 

[botp2k1]

What kind of flow are you getting and what kind of pump?

 

[islandboy]

i was thinking about incorporating a DSB bucket to my setup. i have a 2" drain from my internal horizontal overflow to my sump. this drain goes directly into a dedicated compartment for my skimmer which sits in the sump. i was thinking of tee'ing off this drain line to the DSB bucket which will then drain into the sump, thus using gravity instead of adding another pump. the only thing is that not all the raw water will go into the skimmer section first. i don't think that it will matter because not all the water that enters that compartment goes directly into the skimmer anyways, but i would like to hear other's opinions.

 

[Daemonfly]

I'm thinking of trying one out on my 20g long. Just a piece of 6" PVC with about a foot of sand in it, will be prefiltered from the 10g fuge.

 

[Dr.Ocean]

I got a 15g high as a spare.Am thinking of using it as my DSB bucket after struggling with Nitrates in my tank.But it wont be "Dark" as its a glass tank.Would that be ok?

 

[Lrgclasper]

What about letting the water trickle down through the bucket and letting it drain on the bottom? I would think this is a much more effective method to increase contact with the sand. By the time the water was a few inch's into the sand I am sure it would be anerobic anyhow.

 

[superedge88]

i was thinking about incorporating a DSB bucket to my setup. i have a 2" drain from my internal horizontal overflow to my sump. this drain goes directly into a dedicated compartment for my skimmer which sits in the sump. i was thinking of tee'ing off this drain line to the DSB bucket which will then drain into the sump, thus using gravity instead of adding another pump. the only thing is that not all the raw water will go into the skimmer section first. i don't think that it will matter because not all the water that enters that compartment goes directly into the skimmer anyways, but i would like to hear other's opinions.

I think that it may be better to put water through the "DSB in a bucket" that has already has much of the organics filtered out, so basically give it water that has already gone through your skimmer. This would help make sure that a smaller amount of organics could possibly settle in the DSB bucket. Just a thought.