Reply With Quoteis the sump deep enough for you to do DSD with rubble and chaeto on top?
I am starting a new 90gal mixed reef which I will be posting my project as soon as it progresses. I am debating to use a remote DSB (Deep Sand Bed) in my refugium. The refugium is a 30 gal tank w/ baffles, so the refugium portion is about 15gal. In the main tank I am doing a SSB. I am wondering if it would be benefit the tank or if I would be better off with live rock rubble and cheato? I welcome any one willing to share their knowldge on this one. I plan on setting up the tank this weekend.
is the sump deep enough for you to do DSD with rubble and chaeto on top?
USA
The refugium part of the sump is 12w X 12h x17L. I know that if I do a 4-5in RDSB I will have enough room only for the macro algae.
no DSB in main display?
if i can make a suggestion. why not run a deep sand bed in plastic guttering that water is pumped from the sump then gravity feed back near the last baffle. that way u can run both
Vquilibrium Productions
Fat Walrus: right now I can not afford to do a DSB in the main display otherwise I would I even searched for southdown in my area with no luck. So I am stuck with paying $1.50BL.
Veriann: I had thought about a technique similar to that but using a 5 gal bucket. I am not sure if I want to go threw that much trouble. In all my tanks now and in the past have had a SSB but time to time a struggle with nitrate swings. I may do this in the future but right now it is to extreeme.
i would do the RDSB rather than the rubble if it was my choice.
Do you think there will be enough area for the sand bed to be effective? What size grain would you recommend #0 (fiji Pink Sand) or #1 fine sand? Both being aragonite of course.
what is a deap sand bed in a sump, around 4-6 inches?
Save a coral, Trade a frag.
Stop The World, I Want Off
I was going to set mine up as 4-5inches just because the height of the baffles are 12 inches high.
that's right. there are a lot of debate about perfect height, but 3 inches or less is considered too little, and much more than 7 inches are said to be unnecessary or perhaps detrimental. at least from what i know.Originally Posted by wwest
anyone else have suggestions or comments?
Well I am running a DSB and I used 160 lbs of sand in my 65G. Of that I used 40lbs of Carib-Sea Aragamax Select (0.5-1.02 mm grain size) and 90lbs of Aragamax select (0.2 to 1.22) and 40lbs Carib-Sea Special Grade Sand (1-1.7).
The reason I mention this is you were asking about grainular size. Since my cycle anout 4 months ago, I have had steady ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels.
Thanks Wildone I think I use 1mm size sand if I decide to do a RDSB.
i would go with that height. but i would prob go glass/acrylic insert cells so u could change/move it later without disturbing the bed! u only need the glass/acrylic lip to be slightly heigher to contain the water level! its not a huge area so its manageable in 3 or 4 cells.id have a field day with a project like this. sounds like fun!
Jr,
I would recomend not just using all of one grainsize. 1mm or (0phi) is the border between very coarse sand and coarse sand.
as my actual job is analysis of the benthic supstrate and the correlations of organisms to a phi (size) range (kinda what i do),
i would recomend a mixed sizing from medium/ coarse silt to very coarse sand. (5.5 to 0 phi) (0.02- 1mm). with more of the larger ranges than the silt/ muds.
Adam J
you would think with a degree and professional career i could actually spell words correctly. sory.
I don't have the credentials Adam does to back me up, but I agree with Adam. I spent alot of time reading about DSB before I put mine together and most of the reading I did stressed mixing grain sizes and getting down to at least .2.
Verian, I am not to sure what you mean by by insert cells, could you please explain.
AdamJ & Wild One, Thanks for your input I now plan on using .2mm grain, 1-1.7mm grain and crushed coral. Now would you suggest I layer these in any sort of way?
glass/acrylic rectangle vessels that u fill with ur media!just like a rectangle cake tin to make it easer to visualise. u can effectivly have a DSD but in manageable/movable bit size peices. u make them as big as u think u can move them fully loaded! u have the glass, the media & what ever water covering the sand, so u dont want to make them to big!
you place them on the bare bottom tank right next to each other or leave a gap for lattice work legs for a table top. u could put coral rubble on the table tops.
its just suggestions, but it allows the freedom to chop & change without the hassels of perminantcy that can plague certain areas of this hobby
I put the finer gainules on the bottom, and worked my way to larger on top. I think it will get a littlee mixed eventually. I thought I read somwhere that crushed coral was not a good idea and I need to find that again. Give me a bit to look for that one.
Here is a DSB resource that seems to go into some depth on sand sizes. http://ronshimek.com/Deep%20Sand%20Beds.htm
great link. it really expresses what i did not emphasize.
i would try to avoid goign over 1mm.
image stolen from the link
Adam J
you would think with a degree and professional career i could actually spell words correctly. sory.
wildone, and everyone for that matter, if u have a great link just take a few extra min if u please and add it in the approprate section in the link D-Base
Veriann: Now I get it that is a great way to do a DSB without being stuck with it. I am supprised I have not heard of this method, did you creat it your self or try it personally? It is a little to late for me since I laid out the sand already tonight, but will most likely try it in my main tank or in my next one.
Wild One: thanks for the article I have not seen that one yet it was very informational. Now I will not be using my crushed coral in my DSB. Good looking out.
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