Removed my sandbed

[Anonymous]

On Sunday I pulled my sand bed. Yay. It was pretty icky. But the real reason I am glad its gone is all of the space that I get back!

The new set up looks a litte shy, but I have recently lost a bunch of coral (and have some bleached that look like they will come back) in a recent DSB event. This was the second time I had such an event.

Oh - there will be a black background on the tank so ignore the visible plumbing.

I also changed the plumbing quite a bit. Basically I pulled everything that wasn't the return AMK 3000 (powerheads, OM squirt, mag 12 running one of the two 1 inch Sea Swirls) and replaced it with a Sequence 5800 running a 3/4 inch, 5 loc lined valved manifold on each side of the tank. My idea is to get the water moving around the tank in a circular motion - which is also why the aquascaping is so 'airy'. I don't have the Sequence yet, and the manifolds are being run by an extra AMK 3000.

What I really dig is the depth front to back is awesome, but I don't really think it shows up in the picture.

:mrgreen:

With:

Without:

 

[Unarce]

Looks good, Rich.

I've actually been thinking about yanking my SSB, too. My turnover rate is only at 24X at the moment and would like to at least get it over 30X.

How did you do it? Did you just siphon it out gradually, or did you have to pull out all the rock work to remove it?

 

[Anonymous]

I pulled everything, and put everything back. Took six hours and about a week of planning, and two other reefers - Jim and Joe.

I may be breaking the tank down again in 6 months, new floor going in, and am excited to get to play with flow & take my time with a faux sand bed - if I even feel the need.

 

[Anonymous]

Saweeet! Your corals and actively swimming fish thank you. I can't wait to see the final product and watch it fill in. I love the arch on the left.

Keeping as little rock in conctact with the bottom as possible is clutch. The bottom of the tank should be able to breath like an open fly, keeps the crap from getting trapped.

You'll probably see a lot of detritus settle/get kicked around for the first weeks, be prepared.

 

[Unarce]

I'll kick the idea around for the next couple of weeks. You had a DSB, right Rich? Mine's probably 1/2" all around.

BTW, you're orientalis frag is in encrust mode. It should be about 3/4" by the time the Dixon swap comes around. Just PM me what you have for trade. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I really like the arch too

sweet tank

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Forgive the n00b, please. What is a deep sand bed event? And what is a faux sandbed? Either it's sand or not isn't it?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

That looks great! did you have a hard time fitting everything back in there?

 

[polcat]

Forgive the n00b, please. What is a deep sand bed event? And what is a faux sandbed? Either it's sand or not isn't it?

Sand bed event....over time sand beds can trap phosphate and leach it back into the water column. That can lead to algae problems or worse, some areas in the sand bed become toxic leading to an entire crash.

Most bare bottom tanks these days are using a product called starboard which is UV treated cutting board. It is put on the bottom in case of a rock slide which might damage the glass bottom. A faux sand bed attaches sand to the glass or star board bottom with epoxy, thus giving the illusion of a sand bed.

Bare bottom 101: huge flow 40x or more. Wet skimming=the huge flow keeps detritus in suspension so skimmer can collect it. No detritus is allowed to build up on the bottom and turn into nutrients. Nice setup for SPS corals that need pristine water quality.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

How do you know when the dsb is going to do that?

 

[liquid]

I have recently lost a bunch of coral (and have some bleached that look like they will come back) in a recent DSB event. This was the second time I had such an event.

I thought you were vacuuming your sand bed periodically though. That didn't stop it from happening?

Shane

 

[polcat]

How do you know when the dsb is going to do that?

Not sure you know when until it happens. There are some warning signs like algae or dino's that won't go away even after following all the standard advice for getting rid of them. Most DSB's seem to do a good job for several years and some folks are more diligent about keeping them functiong. They really need to be recharged with more sand critters periodicaly. You can't just throw 4" of sand in and forget about it...well you can but the effects will become apparent over time. When the DSB stops processing phosphates because it is full, you will know.

Don't get me wrong here, I think DSB's are great they just need to be maintained in a way that keeps them functiong. By the way, live rock can absorb phosphate over time as well. Many folks report algae growing on the rock that will not go away with all the standard treatments; which are in no particular order......

Crank up skimmer
Check age of lights
reduce photo period
run phosphate remover
run chemi-pure
run carbon
use ozone
siphon and pluck it out
add macro algae in fuge
get an urchin
get a tang
get a blenny
get more snails
get a lettuce nudibranch
increase ph
increase alk
less feeding
when all else fails run red slime remover

I'm sure there are more, but if you've done all that and still have algae, you have an excess nutrient problem somewhere and maybe from the sand and rocks. JMO :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

That looks great! did you have a hard time fitting everything back in there?

Thanks! (to you too Knucklehead!)

Everything went back in pretty easy!

 

[Anonymous]

I have recently lost a bunch of coral (and have some bleached that look like they will come back) in a recent DSB event. This was the second time I had such an event.

I thought you were vacuuming your sand bed periodically though. That didn't stop it from happening?

Shane

I was, but because of the rock work, I couldn't get to all of it. A powerhead fell in the back and dug deep into the bed for about 20 minutes. RTN the next day. This may have had nothing to do with 'filling' but maybe a release of other nasties. Either way, after a couple/three sand bed related RTN events, I am putting sand beds in the same category as sea apples - they may look good, but not worth the risk.

 

[Anonymous]

How do you know when the dsb is going to do that?

You don't know, that is what is scary to me. A sand bed may do fine for 20 years. My major worry with a sand bed is that something unintentional may happen to disturb the bed. If a powerhead falls while you aren't there...I am not running sand for several reasons, but one of them is the same reason I don't keep sea apples. There is a real risk they may pop and do damage to the corals in the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

They really need to be recharged with more sand critters periodicaly. You can't just throw 4" of sand in and forget about it...well you can but the effects will become apparent over time. When the DSB stops processing phosphates because it is full, you will know.

Don't get me wrong here, I think DSB's are great they just need to be maintained in a way that keeps them functiong. By the way, live rock can absorb phosphate over time as well. Many folks report algae growing on the rock that will not go away with all the standard treatments; which are in no particular order......

Good stuff.

I don't buy the recharge the critters/properly maintain part of DSB methodology. You simply cant recycle 100% of the goo in a tank. Ron says you should replace your DSB every 5 years.

I think DSB's might have their place. If I were setting up a tank only for two years, I might use one, but prolly not. If I were keeping animals that needed it I would use one.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

How deep can a sandbed be before it developes anaerobic areas?

 

[Anonymous]

Half an inch, IIRC.

 

[polcat]

Good stuff.

I don't buy the recharge the critters/properly maintain part of DSB methodology. You simply cant recycle 100% of the goo in a tank. Ron says you should replace your DSB every 5 years.

I think DSB's might have their place. If I were setting up a tank only for two years, I might use one, but prolly not. If I were keeping animals that needed it I would use one.

I hear ya. I'm new here, a transplant from another board where people get flamed over this BB stuff. I personally will never use sand again, not in a fuge, or SSB either. It's just not worth it for the asthetics to me. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

:welcome: