DSB and 20 Gl high tank

[ekudl]

Hello All, I've heard that a 4"DSB for a 20 Gl tank is useless. It should be in a tank at least 35 or 40 gl (As quoted by Dr. Ron) to sustain adequate critters for BioFltration.
Question is I was wondering how deep everyone would suggest the Sand Bed be to have along with 20# LR and a skimmer in a 20 GL tank then, nothing else for filtration?

 

[Anonymous]

put in the dsb-it's definitely not useless!

the microfauna will develop-it's more a function of the depth and grain structure-you'll just end up with less bio capacity handling than a larger tank-but it will process your tank just fine!

 

[olgakurt]

I agree put it in. I have had a DSB in my 20g high since 1990. My bed has been between 1.5-5" deep. I agree w/Dr. Ron about bed functionality. That is, we suspect that it would take a bed area ~30"x30" to develop a self sustaining population of fauna to work the bed. With a smaller bed you will notice the diversity start to dwindle over time. You can delay this by creating several micro-environments such as open sand bed, rock rubble, macroa algae or seagrass areas, etc.

The depth you need to develop denitrfying conditions is largely a function of water flow over the bed, grain size, and organic content. You can get denitrification in 1/4" of bed but conditions may also not develop for several inches in others. A lot depends on the microenvironments that develop in your tank/bed. For instance denitrification occurs in the wall of many worm tube burrows near the surface but the burrows themselves may be well oxygenated several inches deeps due to bioirrigation.
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