DSB in a bucket for nitrate control
- Thread starter Hobster
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I don't know how to direct you to the thread or how to post the thread link on here but I will tell you where to find it.
Under advanced forum discussions, go to All Things Salty.
Look for DSB In Bucket Smells Bad
In this thread he explains how many GPH in going through it and whatever else.
Under advanced forum discussions, go to All Things Salty.
Look for DSB In Bucket Smells Bad
In this thread he explains how many GPH in going through it and whatever else.
Kinetic
Active member
Kinetic
Active member
he has a huge 30g trash can, he has 6" of water over the surface of the sand, the 300gph might not be enough for that 6" and he's getting dead things sitting in there and creating a nutrient sink.
Bottom line for everyone: do a few inches of water on top, 200gph or so, no lights.
fancy stuff just seems overboard. It's much simpler than you think probably.
Bottom line for everyone: do a few inches of water on top, 200gph or so, no lights.
fancy stuff just seems overboard. It's much simpler than you think probably.
fservillon
New member
ok, i setup my rdsb using a plastic trash bin from hd. 12" sugar fine aragonite sand, my phosban reactor is feeding the rdsb and drains into my sump where it gets skimmed and returned to the tank. tank is 55g fbh with about 50lbs of live rock, 3" sand bed, softies and 7 fish. nitrate is ~20. i will test again after 1 month and post it on here.
Kinetic
Active member
so I'm guessing the bucket needs bacteria, so if we get dead sand, meaning nothing but sand, we'd have to wait for it to populate with bacteria right?
how long would that take?
also if we got live sand (the carbisea kind with bacteria) for the bucket, would that help and be better?
how long would that take?
also if we got live sand (the carbisea kind with bacteria) for the bucket, would that help and be better?
Mr Bojangles
New member
that stuff in the bag is garbage, as stated before unless you get sand from another RDSB that is at lest 4 inches down, then just wait. The population all depends on your tanks conditions, it could be a month to 6 months
Kinetic
Active member
is it really garbage? I thought it was jammed full of dormant bacteria, that would kick in once it had food.
It's not garbage, it's just that you can populate the sand without the extra cost of bacteria. But would it would help the process start faster no?
Many people keep saying it's garbage, but the fact is, it has the bacteria that we all seek. It's not needed, since our sand will be seeded somewhere for cheap, but just asking if that would jump start the process.
It's not garbage, it's just that you can populate the sand without the extra cost of bacteria. But would it would help the process start faster no?
Many people keep saying it's garbage, but the fact is, it has the bacteria that we all seek. It's not needed, since our sand will be seeded somewhere for cheap, but just asking if that would jump start the process.
fishtk75
New member
I looking at the posts over 150 and need to know.
See differant medias in the buckets so what is every one using that is working the best?
As what size media sand and where you got it?
Is the bucket closed lid or open top?
How high from the top of bucket the sand?
If someone can get it to me in a nutshell.
See differant medias in the buckets so what is every one using that is working the best?
As what size media sand and where you got it?
Is the bucket closed lid or open top?
How high from the top of bucket the sand?
If someone can get it to me in a nutshell.
Mr Bojangles
New member
See differant medias in the buckets so what is every one using that is working the best?
regual sugar sized silica playsand
Is the bucket closed lid or open top?
closed, I dont want anything else growing in there
How high from the top of bucket the sand?
about 4 inches of water
Mr Bojangles
New member
the flow can be fast or slow, but you do not want any ditrus to settle, so I use the output from my skimmer witch is clean so I have a slow flow while others have fast, but not so fast it didturbs the sandbed
Mr Bojangles
New member
I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t think the stuff in a bag will do any good. The bacteria that comes in there is for all types of things but the bacteria in a RDSB is the denitrification bacteria so you would just be killing the rest. I can be wrong however I am sure some one will chime in.
Mr Bojangles, you are correct, it is the wrong type of bacteria. Or at least not in sufficient supply of the bacteria we are looking for.
Live sand from caribsea will not help in the RDSB. It is a different type of bacteria. As someone mentioned you would have to get sand that is >4" or deeper from a DSB. Only in this location will you get a decent amount of bacteria you are looking for. Even then we're not sure if it would help very much. If you would like to test it I for one am curious.
As for dead sand it depends on many variables.
sand grain size (surface area)
flow
depth
width
if you layer the sand
....
It varies from 1-2 months to 6-8 months depending on the size of the system.
What type of system are you looking at?
Live sand from caribsea will not help in the RDSB. It is a different type of bacteria. As someone mentioned you would have to get sand that is >4" or deeper from a DSB. Only in this location will you get a decent amount of bacteria you are looking for. Even then we're not sure if it would help very much. If you would like to test it I for one am curious.
As for dead sand it depends on many variables.
sand grain size (surface area)
flow
depth
width
if you layer the sand
....
It varies from 1-2 months to 6-8 months depending on the size of the system.
What type of system are you looking at?
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