I'm thinking of going back to DSB.

[TimberTDI]

I've had this BB tank setup for over 10 months now. I have to say that I'm not impressed with the results. There doesn't seem to be any considerable growth. Everything is healthy but nothing is getting bigger.
My biggest complaint is the amount of crap all over the place. I siphon the tank out once a week and the next day all the crap builds up again. I've cut down feeding to every other day. I shut down all pumps for 20 minutes when I feed; to help keep food from flying everywhere.
I only have five fish: med yellow tang, coral beauty, two maroon clowns and one false perc. Corals are also a very light load. I have a tunze and a mag 7 in the tank; to try and stir everything up, but inevitably it manages to settle in dead spots.
My other complaint is the amount of algae I constantly have to clean. It's almost diatom like but not really. It's kinda clear colored? If that makes sense. I have to use my nail to scrape it off my tunze, I have to clean the glass almost every day.

By the way, for those that aren't familiar:

• 92 gallon bow tank, 20 gallon sump(can't fit anything bigger under the stand)
• 250w 14k SE and 2 24" Vhos. Both power by icecaps.
• All water parameters fall into normal ranges.
• I use a Euro Reef CS 180
• I run carbon, phosban and purigen. They are changed at regular intervals.
• RO/DI water, filters changed when TDS shows at 30ppm

It just seems that when I was running my 150 w/ DSB I didn't have these issues. Please let me know what you guys think.

Steven

P.S. Can someone please come up with a reef-friendly spell check?

 

[marrone]

I guess the real question is if everything was working fine with a DSB why did you change in the first place.

 

[Pedro]

Probably the same reason i changed. Trends! Seems like bomber was advocating it and it became popular so we followed. With barebottom i think the rules change in that you really need more filtration to keep things healthy. The sand is a natural filter so long as it's working right.

 

[marrone]

Trends in this hobby come and go, it's better to stick with what works for you.

In all fairness to make either method work you need to make sure you're doing it correctly. For BB you need a lot of flow so that the junk gets picked up by the filter and with DSB you need to make sure the SB is being moved around, by using critters.

 

[heuerfan]

Probably the same reason i changed. Trends!

Thought you didn't follow trends.........

A tanks gotta have sand, doesn't look natural without it.......

My 2 cents....

 

[Pedro]

Lol, i said i will no longer follow trends. I will stick with what worked for me in the past.

I couldn't agree more with Marrone!

 

[jhale]

for the last time BB is not a trend, if you call it a trend then you have to call sand a trend.

It's just another way of setting up a tank, and like mike said you have to know how to do each correctly.

The crap you were getting could be your rocks still shedding.
To do a BB right you really need to cook the rock.
Tons of flow to get the garbage into the sump, then an over-sized skimmer to handle the extra work load of not having a sand bed to fall back on.
one thing, you said you change the ro/di when it reads 30 tds, is that a typo?

I went BB and did not cook the rock, it took my rocks about 8 months to stop shedding, then there was no crap to siphon.
The new trend I'm trying now is a shallow sand bed with calcium carbonate sand

 

[vanceny]

RO/DI water, filters changed when TDS shows at 30ppm
quote]

I noticed the same thing. :scratchch

 

[bklynreef]

i never understood why people went with trends, my motto is if aint broke dont fix it.
DSB is not only better but asthetically more pleasing to the eye. never did like BB, too plain looking, but to each his own i guess.

 

[romain]

Trends are not always better.

 

[Deanos]

for the last time BB is not a trend, if you call it a trend then you have to call sand a trend.

While BB is not a trend, 'going BB' definitely was.

 

[jhale]

While BB is not a trend, 'going BB' definitely was.

so was using a DSB, that came in after glass bottom tanks
and the return to a BB was in reaction to the many DSB's that had filled up and crashed tanks. Some might call that being broke

I'm still curious to hear the TDS question cleared up.

 

[aaron]

There's just as much crap in the bottom of the tank weather you have sand on it or not, its just harder to see it if you have a sand bed. I'm much happier knowing that i can see and remove the sediment on the bottom of the tank rather than just letting it "disappear" into the sandbed.

 

[Deanos]

There's just as much crap in the bottom of the tank weather you have sand on it or not, its just harder to see it if you have a sand bed.

Aaron, I disagree. The disappearing act you referring to, is more than visually. There are critters in a sandbed which feed on the detritus which falls onto it, breaking it down into smaller components. Often times, these critters are not present in a barebottom tank. That's why a crucial element of a BB tank is high flow to keep detritus suspended so that it can be removed mechanically instead of biologically.

 

[leoskee]

Ive kept a DSB for the better part of my time in the hobby. I went BB last year. I will be going back to DSB for my next tank. I think what made DSB work for me was that, unknowingly (first few years, very novice), I siphoned water while cleaning the sand (python). I also occassionally stirred my sand. This allowed a great deal of trapped detritus to become dislodged and removed from the tank. I later learned that this is not a good thing to do for an established tank because of the build up of toxins under the sand. None the less, I did it, my tank did well and I learned from it.

I might not go too deep, but I definitely want sand.

 

[jhale]

I've cut down feeding to every other day

I just caught this as well. Steven your fish need to eat more often!

Over feeding your tank is not the problem. Don't make the fish suffer.

when you say all the water levels are normal, what are you measuring and what are the exact numbers.
Reading your post does not quite add up. It sounds like you have lots of detritus coming off your rocks, which is normal, but otherwise things sound okay.

I'd like to know the No3, Po4, SG, CA, Alk, and MG levels to start.
Something is not adding up right. Let's figure out what it is.

 

[fritz]

Just follow a better trend, like BLACK SAND! Oh yeah.

Go get a few bags of black sand and hook yourself up!

 

[TimberTDI]

First; Thanks a lot for all the responses. I really appreciate all the quick answers.

• The TDS Question: I change the filters out at 20. I can only get my TDS down to 8-10 with new filters installed. My next step is to change the membrane, it's about due. My tap water measures between 580-610.

I guess the real question is if everything was working fine with a DSB why did you change in the first place.

I changed to a BB because it's different tank than the one I broke down when I moved. I do like the look of BB a lot. I was never really crazy about having 5" of sand taking up 1/5 of the tank viewing.


These are my test parameters from the first week of Oct.

• sg 1.027
• ph 8.2
• ca 430ppm
• alk 6.6dkh
• NO3 0.00 undetectable
• NH3 0.00 undetectable
• PO4 0.00
• MG- I have never tested for magnesium.

Just follow a better trend, like BLACK SAND! Oh yeah.

Wouldn't this be harder to keep clean? I planned on using it when I setup my Aquapod.

Guys again thanks a lot,
Steven

 

[xxnonamexx]

Ut oh this is making my decision change again lol. I currently have a 55gal reef and am upgrading within the next 3-4 months to a 120gal. I currently have a DSB, RO/DI, Reef devil skimmer, Sump, overhang, I was planning on going BB. I have read alot about pros and cons, The part I dislike about my DSb is the filth when it is pressed up against the glass and also all the gases it is hiding waiting to destroy my tank, I have sand, crushed coral, medium sand and topped off with very fine sand about 4-5" deep. I have seen other people with very little sand, I don't know what I should do. ANy suggestions? I read an artilce by Board Member FastUno who suggested:Drum roll please...............
Ideal BB tank setup:
1-foggetabout cutting board, faux sand beds...etc.
2-start tank off with not that many rocks, enough to build a back wall only. Go as high as you can if you want.
3-make sure you have a good skimmer & flow
4-Keep the front of tank without any rocks or corals & let the tank develop into this magical state, where some detritus just disappears.
5-once this state is upon you, then go crazy with rocks. Any which way you want, but in particular, cover the floor with rocks so it looks more natural. Cover it in a way not to overlap with the upper back rocks, just in case you needed to get in.
6-Setup a set of PVC pipes in the back of your tank facing downwards that is connected to any high flow pump & place this pump on a daily timer. Pump goes on for 5-15min every 4hrs or 8hrs, however you see fit. You will get a feel for what is needed. This way you will use up less electricity, but have the comfort of having a detritus tornado just in case it's needed. Cover all those pipes on the back wall with a wall of rocks, or some eggcrate & that foam stuff. Alternatively you can use your return line & break it up & point it downwards in the back of your tank. He used Tunze for flow.

 

[jhale]

• The TDS Question: I change the filters out at 20. I can only get my TDS down to 8-10 with new filters installed. My next step is to change the membrane, it's about due. My tap water measures between 580-610.

• sg 1.027
• ph 8.2
• ca 430ppm
• alk 6.6dkh
• NO3 0.00 undetectable
• NH3 0.00 undetectable
• PO4 0.00
• MG- I have never tested for magnesium.

holly molly, 600 TDS?

from those reading I would say your alk is on the low side.
I would bump it up to the 8-10 range. without knowing the mg it's tough to say what you need to do to achieve this. If the mg is low it will pull the alk down with it.

I think the algae problem is coming from the high TDS that is still going into your tank. Do you have a fuge set up? maybe a bunch of cheato would help prevent the algae from growing on the glass as fast as it does.