whats better in sandbed
- Thread starter chefsreef
- Start date
- Location
- Bronx/Westchester
whats your tank volume?
- Location
- Rockville Centre, NY
2 would be the max for a shallow sandbed and 4 the min for a deep sandbed... personally i would go 5 for a deep and at most 1 for a shallow. Definitely make sure it's outside the 2-4 inch range as this would cause problems further down the line.
- Location
- Sound Beach,LI
+1 except that I've read that 6" is the min for a deep sand bed
- Location
- Forked River, New Jersey
all depends where you read but its abt 4-6" for deep.. but the question is which is better??
depends on what you are going for, what type of sand(meaning particle size) and your filtration setup.. but ive read that deep sandbeds have a useful life of abt 7 years in an aquarium and the guys that do it right section off the sand into cubed sections and can change out a portion of the sand every few years to keep it going and not cause a spike in nitrates or any kind of re cycle...
if you run a good sump and refugium you dont need it.. a 2-3" sand bed is good, deep enough for your critters to thrive and shallow enough not to get into too much anerobic sections to cause hydrogen sulfide gas to accidntally be released into your tank..
depends on what you are going for, what type of sand(meaning particle size) and your filtration setup.. but ive read that deep sandbeds have a useful life of abt 7 years in an aquarium and the guys that do it right section off the sand into cubed sections and can change out a portion of the sand every few years to keep it going and not cause a spike in nitrates or any kind of re cycle...
if you run a good sump and refugium you dont need it.. a 2-3" sand bed is good, deep enough for your critters to thrive and shallow enough not to get into too much anerobic sections to cause hydrogen sulfide gas to accidntally be released into your tank..
This can depend on what you are going to put in your tank?
You can have sections of your tank with a DSB of 6 inches and some that are 1 inch.
Some fish will take advantage of all that sand and make sections twice as deep in some areas. I would start with 2 inches all around and gradually increase the amount where you want until you get what you have in mind.
You can have sections of your tank with a DSB of 6 inches and some that are 1 inch.
Some fish will take advantage of all that sand and make sections twice as deep in some areas. I would start with 2 inches all around and gradually increase the amount where you want until you get what you have in mind.
Having quite a few tanks with and without sandbeds nowadays I put enuf sand to just cover the bottom of the tank . Had a deep sand bed which worked out great , had one that for some reason didn't. I had a tank with a 2" sandbed and had algae outbreaks all the time, never got it under control till I took out the sandbed and then it was fine.... I agree tho if you go with a deep sand bed , go 5" or more , shallow sand bed just 1 " . A sandbed can "trap alot of crap" and the debate about them will go on forever. ... ...
I think tho..If done right a deep sandbed can be a great asset to any reef tank.
I think tho..If done right a deep sandbed can be a great asset to any reef tank.
- Location
- Queens, NY
with sand beds, it needs to be thick, around 6" for effectiveness, less then that and it is harmful to the water parameters, since there won't be enough depth for the hypoxic denitrification to occur and therefore a release of partially broken down compounds is probable.
If you want to be cosmetic, then you can put a thin layer of 1", so that no hypoxic areas can form, due to constant mixing by the water and animals.
With in between depts, a hypoxic area can form, then if a fish or something blows that area open, noxious poisonous gasses are released.
If you want to be cosmetic, then you can put a thin layer of 1", so that no hypoxic areas can form, due to constant mixing by the water and animals.
With in between depts, a hypoxic area can form, then if a fish or something blows that area open, noxious poisonous gasses are released.
Huh?
You would have to elaborate on why most people have between 1 and 6 inches of sand and have not died due to the noxious poisonous gas.
You are being correct with your answer but the gas does not dissolve into the water and transfers harmlessly to the surface. In dense fine grained beds it will partially decompose and create hydrogen sulfide gas. In extreme cases it can cause an odor of eggs, at worst. But only in extremely fine grained densely packed sand beds.
Since there are no references in MR about that then I would say you are safe with a two or three inch sand bed.
You would have to elaborate on why most people have between 1 and 6 inches of sand and have not died due to the noxious poisonous gas.
You are being correct with your answer but the gas does not dissolve into the water and transfers harmlessly to the surface. In dense fine grained beds it will partially decompose and create hydrogen sulfide gas. In extreme cases it can cause an odor of eggs, at worst. But only in extremely fine grained densely packed sand beds.
Since there are no references in MR about that then I would say you are safe with a two or three inch sand bed.
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- Location
- Queens, NY
oh, sorry, thanks for correcting me Imbarrie, the sulfur gas is the danger, that needs to be avoided in anoxic situations of zero O2 levels. I was trying to say too much with a single sentence. Let me clarify with what I was trying to say about the intermediate depths of sand less then 6".
There's not enough depth for a gradient of O2 gas to reach hypoxic levels for proper denitrification or for breaking down other larger waste compounds. Therefore, it's not really necessary to try to have a 4" or 5" or even a 3" sand bed, since it wont function as a deep sand bed, but may have partially broken down compounds or even worst, concentrated levels of compounds as they are drawn in. I personally use a plenum under a 6" sand bed to help form this gradient of lower O2 levels, but it never quite becomes an anoxic situation, so there's no danger of sulfur gasses being produced, yet still allows for denitrification.
Therefore, if it is just cosmetic, I'd go with the thinest layer of sand that's pleasing, and avoid hypoxic areas completely.
And yes, I've had 2-3" sand beds in the past, which without sand shifters, became compacted with fish waste over time, and caused a die off when I moved the rocks around landscaping, exposing the layer of anoxic black sand, which I then carelessly scooped up and moved to make a new hill. It smelled swampy but I didn't care. Until my fish started to die half an hour later.
There's not enough depth for a gradient of O2 gas to reach hypoxic levels for proper denitrification or for breaking down other larger waste compounds. Therefore, it's not really necessary to try to have a 4" or 5" or even a 3" sand bed, since it wont function as a deep sand bed, but may have partially broken down compounds or even worst, concentrated levels of compounds as they are drawn in. I personally use a plenum under a 6" sand bed to help form this gradient of lower O2 levels, but it never quite becomes an anoxic situation, so there's no danger of sulfur gasses being produced, yet still allows for denitrification.
Therefore, if it is just cosmetic, I'd go with the thinest layer of sand that's pleasing, and avoid hypoxic areas completely.
And yes, I've had 2-3" sand beds in the past, which without sand shifters, became compacted with fish waste over time, and caused a die off when I moved the rocks around landscaping, exposing the layer of anoxic black sand, which I then carelessly scooped up and moved to make a new hill. It smelled swampy but I didn't care. Until my fish started to die half an hour later.
- Location
- Tampa
I?ve had a few different sand bed arrangements over the years, from plenum to bare. Once I started using a refugium, I moved my deep bed to the refugium and kept a thin layer in the tank, 1-2 inches, just enough for the animals. Although I have never had a problem with a deep bed, I always had a concern about keeping them in my tanks. It?s a hard place to fix things if you have a problem with gasses.
Don
Don
- Location
- Middle Village, Queens
I have a 14gallon biocube and was trying to get a DSB. I kept on adding sand only to realize 4+ inches would look a litte silly and not leave much room for anything else in my tank. I stopped at about 3". I haven't had issues yet but worred about the long run.
Should I start siphoning out some sand everytime I do a water change? My only sand shifters are dward ceriths and nassarius's.
Should I start siphoning out some sand everytime I do a water change? My only sand shifters are dward ceriths and nassarius's.
- Location
- Tampa
If it was me I would probably slowly take some sand out and leave an inch or two. But I also wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Adding some more sand sifters would be helpful.
Don
Don
- Location
- Brooklyn, Ny
whats good dsb for a 20 tall?
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