DSB not dong his job?

[nycsicktank]

i have 3" in DT and 3 1/2" in fuge. my nitrates is always at 50ppm.

 

[mg426]

How long has the DSB been set up?? Also a DSB usually needs to be 6+inches to be really effective at reducing nitrates.

 

[Craig Lambert]

3" isn't really an effective depth for a DSB. You are more of an SSB. (Shallow Sandbed). 4" minimum, and up to 6" is what's required to impact your nitrate reduction.

 

[Snowboarda42]

How about your other stuff?

Skimmer? Water Changes? Overfeeding? Overstocked? Chaeto? Carbon?

 

[nycsicktank]

the tank is been running only a month.
i do run Coralife super 125 skimmer. i have no livestock yet instead for few Nassarius snails.
no carbon
cheato will be here on thursday or friday

would it work if i move some sand from my DT to Fuge to make it up to 6"?

thanks in advanced!

 

[nycsicktank]

what im not understanding is that i have no mechanical filter, and no fish but few snails. however i do feed the bacteria with few small pellets every 3 days.

i just added another 3" ls into my fuge.

why wont my nitrates go down without w/c? isnt lr and ls suppose make nitrate go away? did i read something wrong here?

help please.

 

[otiso777]

It will eventually but it takes a while for the denitrifying bacteria to buildup in the rock and sand bed

 

[nycsicktank]

how long will it take?

 

[smm607]

my tank took 3 months to get where it should be and i don't have a dsb, Just a piece of lr and some ls with a ball of chaeto in the fuge and i have never had a problem with my trates....Patience is the key with the initial set up you have to just let things fall into place

 

[nycsicktank]

i heard you have to replenish DSB every year. what happens if you have too much in your fuge?

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11326184#post11326184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nycsicktank
what im not understanding is that i have no mechanical filter, and no fish but few snails. however i do feed the bacteria with few small pellets every 3 days.

i just added another 3" ls into my fuge.

why wont my nitrates go down without w/c? isnt lr and ls suppose make nitrate go away? did i read something wrong here?

help please.

your live rock is still curing---releasing phosphates, nitrates, ammonia etc.

It also takes time for the bacteria to grow to match the existing bioload in your tank(due to the curing of the live rock)

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11326718#post11326718 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nycsicktank
i heard you have to replenish DSB every year. what happens if you have too much in your fuge?

that is misinformation

Don't understand "too much in your refugium"--too much of what?

 

[nycsicktank]

if you have to put more Ls to replenish your dsb, then you will happen to more dsb in your fuge than you suppose to.

so i dont need to do anything with DSB once in there?

my rock is still curing? theres another process of curing?

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11326890#post11326890 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nycsicktank
if you have to put more Ls to replenish your dsb, then you will happen to more dsb in your fuge than you suppose to.

so i dont need to do anything with DSB once in there?

my rock is still curing? theres another process of curing?

"curing of the live rock" means all the dead stuff comes off the live rock---this creates a bioload(ammonia, phosphates, nitrates)

The bacteria around and in the live rock start to increase their numbers in order to work on the increased bioload--eventully turn it into nitrates---this is called cycling.

(in the nitrogen cycle the end product is nitrogen gas but this rarely happens in a reef tank unless you have a deep sand bed)

curing of live rock completely can sometimes take over 6 months to competely happen

"cycling of bacteria" on the other hand is a constant process through out the life of your tank:
increase the bioload----bacteria cycle or increase thier number--- as a result of it and you keep next to zero levels of ammonia and nitrates.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11326890#post11326890 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nycsicktank
if you have to put more Ls to replenish your dsb, then you will happen to more dsb in your fuge than you suppose to.

so i dont need to do anything with DSB once in there?

my rock is still curing? theres another process of curing?

other then taking a turkey baster to it once a week to lightly baste it then it is better not to disturb a deep sand bed.
There are useful bacteria on its surface and deep within it.

Besides the production of nitrogen there can be accumulation of other gases which are poisoness to fish etc--they are best left down in the sand bed.

IMO you won't have to worry about replentishing any sand bed for a long time----the best way to keep argonite beds functional and healthy is to get a crew of necessarius snails--these live in the bed--keep it from clumping and hardening.

 

[nycsicktank]

thank you all