Skimmer vs. Refugium
- Thread starter j2me5ku
- Start date
pjf
Premium Member
My impression is that hydrogen sulfide accidents can occur when the DSB is disturbed mechanically or by excessive water flow. For example, a powerhead may fall and dig a groove in the sand that releases hydrogen sulfide. During a power outage, what will disturb the DSB and cause the release of hydrogen sulfide?
You are correct that a fuge will not export protiens (except perhaps in the form of algal plant matter) but that is irrelevant as protiens will not build up in an aquarium of any kind (except as lving organisms). Protiens will be broken down and used by all the inverts and bacteria in the system.
If you take a chunk of meat and leave it lying around for a couple of weeks, you will end up with a smelly puddle of goo as all those fats and protiens break down because of bacterial/enzime activity. Leave it long enough and it will dissapear entirely as it is continually broken down and consumed. Its no different in an aquarium. Thats where all that N and P that so often plagues people comes from.
In a properly set up sand bed, you will have a diverse enough community that they will quite efficiently consume and re-consume any food source until it is broken down into basic elements like N and P.
As for the hydrogen sulfide accident thing, it is greatly overblown. I have yet to hear a first person account of such an event. Lots of people poke around in their sanbeds releasing some hydrogen sulfide and post concerned messages on boards like this, but nobody has yet written about a system collapse due to hydrogen sulfide.
I recently had my refugium disconnected from my main tank for two weeks while I did some mechanical changes to the system. I ran absolutely no circulation in the tank for that two week period. That should have cuased an accident several times over, but it didn't.
I would agree that you have more of an organic load in the system with my setup, and that could cause more problems, but I am not the most consistant person when it comes to maintenance. I find that my system has considerable buffering capacity at this point.
To me it is six of one and a half dozen of the other. There are many ways to properly run a system and they all work well.
Fred
If you take a chunk of meat and leave it lying around for a couple of weeks, you will end up with a smelly puddle of goo as all those fats and protiens break down because of bacterial/enzime activity. Leave it long enough and it will dissapear entirely as it is continually broken down and consumed. Its no different in an aquarium. Thats where all that N and P that so often plagues people comes from.
In a properly set up sand bed, you will have a diverse enough community that they will quite efficiently consume and re-consume any food source until it is broken down into basic elements like N and P.
As for the hydrogen sulfide accident thing, it is greatly overblown. I have yet to hear a first person account of such an event. Lots of people poke around in their sanbeds releasing some hydrogen sulfide and post concerned messages on boards like this, but nobody has yet written about a system collapse due to hydrogen sulfide.
I recently had my refugium disconnected from my main tank for two weeks while I did some mechanical changes to the system. I ran absolutely no circulation in the tank for that two week period. That should have cuased an accident several times over, but it didn't.
I would agree that you have more of an organic load in the system with my setup, and that could cause more problems, but I am not the most consistant person when it comes to maintenance. I find that my system has considerable buffering capacity at this point.
To me it is six of one and a half dozen of the other. There are many ways to properly run a system and they all work well.
Fred
wds21921
New member
I see your point Fred but I have an example for you of that effect. A local club member believeing in the DSB AND Plenum theory had such an accident when we had the floods a few years ago in 2002 or 2003. His system remained down for about 5-7 days. In that time his system developed many problems one of which included a huge release of hydrogen sulfide which was very apparent in the odor.
Along with that were many other problems which essentially wiped out his grow out tank of frags. In there he also had animals to turn over the sand bed naturally.
I won't argue the point but a healthy debate is always good. Because of the tremendous bioload over say a rock substrate tank, I think the edge of the envelope gets pushed. I know some people have success with DSB setups because I've seen it with my own eyes. But I also see more people that develop problems which has wiped out there entire tanks.
Why it works for some and not others I don't know.
I will also say that it is probably a closer to natural enviroment though (DSB).
That one example was not my only experience with DSB either. I tried one on my own using seeded sand in a new setup which wound up wiping out everything even after a month and a half of bacteria build up.
Had I had a good experience with it and everything grew normally I would probably have a different opinion or maybe even swear by it, but I dont' see any advantage of one method over the other to be honest and more than a couple results have been less than noteworthy.
I'm not saying you or anyone else with DSB is wrong I just think that DSB AND Plenum is an antiquated idea. Neither of us are right or wrong it's a matter of results and opinons from opposing points of view
.
Along with that were many other problems which essentially wiped out his grow out tank of frags. In there he also had animals to turn over the sand bed naturally.
I won't argue the point but a healthy debate is always good. Because of the tremendous bioload over say a rock substrate tank, I think the edge of the envelope gets pushed. I know some people have success with DSB setups because I've seen it with my own eyes. But I also see more people that develop problems which has wiped out there entire tanks.
Why it works for some and not others I don't know.
I will also say that it is probably a closer to natural enviroment though (DSB).
That one example was not my only experience with DSB either. I tried one on my own using seeded sand in a new setup which wound up wiping out everything even after a month and a half of bacteria build up.
Had I had a good experience with it and everything grew normally I would probably have a different opinion or maybe even swear by it, but I dont' see any advantage of one method over the other to be honest and more than a couple results have been less than noteworthy.
I'm not saying you or anyone else with DSB is wrong I just think that DSB AND Plenum is an antiquated idea. Neither of us are right or wrong it's a matter of results and opinons from opposing points of view
.Interesting. You are the first person I have encountered that had direct experience with such an event. On the other hand, there are also lots of people with normal setups that blow up on them sort of speak. You can mess up any given system I guess.
I do non-skimmed and a sandbed because I am as interested in the small live as I am in my seahorses and corals. If I wasn't I could just as easily be running a skimmed system.
Fred
I do non-skimmed and a sandbed because I am as interested in the small live as I am in my seahorses and corals. If I wasn't I could just as easily be running a skimmed system.
Fred
