The Great Sand Debate

[Deahttub]

So, Im going to be moving my 220 this June and have been thinking of putting 2" of sand in it when i move it. I currently have BB and run 4 MP40's. Ive never run sand in a system before and im curious as to the pitfalls i will have running a 2" layer of sand...

Thnx

Rich

 

[btb72]

I might go a little lower on the sand. I like about an inch of sand in my tank at the most. Just for looks (I can't stand the look of bb personally) if yo need more for certain fish I understand but usually those fish will keep the sand clean.

 

[jda]

I am a shallow sand guy. 2-3" is about right for me... any less and I get bare spots when the fish like to move it around. I like that it will buffer, swap some phosphates and keep the nitrates at zero and also allow me to have some cucumbers and conchs to keep it cleaned up. I would not run a tank without it.

It can move around at first, but once it gets some bacteria on it, it should mostly stay put.

 

[jimmy n]

I also hate bb. Went with 4-6 inches so the sandbed doesn't bare. Also like having cucumbers and sandsifting fish.

 

[longdrives]

So, Im going to be moving my 220 this June and have been thinking of putting 2" of sand in it when i move it. I currently have BB and run 4 MP40's. Ive never run sand in a system before and im curious as to the pitfalls i will have running a 2" layer of sand...

Thnx

Rich

In my experience if you keep the sand to >2" then there is no real effect of the DSB type sand setups. Its more fore aesthetics and you can always swap areas out for new sand as it gets older. Best bet is to just get Nassaraus snails and they will take care of cleaning sand.

 

[longdrives]

In my experience if you keep the sand to >2" then there is no real effect of the DSB type sand setups. Its more fore aesthetics and you can always swap areas out for new sand as it gets older. Best bet is to just get Nassaraus snails and they will take care of cleaning sand.

I meant to say if you keep the sand to <2"