[GQ22]

Has anyone ever used a bare bottom fuge with live rock? i currently have a half inch sand bed which is starting to get covered with algae and my nitrate as 10ppm whereas before they were zero. granted this a brand new fuge, but i am thinking the sand bed has something to do with this as bubbles are coming up from the sand through the algae film. My new idea for a fuge would be bare with live rock mound with a ton of xenia's for nutrtient export. I know people use chaeto but im finding alot of dietrus getting trapped in there. If anyone can offer advice that would be great.

[nanoreefer22]

Well my HOB is BB with a few pieces of a rubble on the bottom to help anchor the macros. When I had sand in there it was taken over by cyano, i couldnt see inside it from even the top. Now since changing tanks I went to BB with the fuge and things in there are alot better. I like cheato, seems to be working for me. Flow through my fuge is really slow too, getting some nice coralline this time tho.

[joseney21]

i'd keep the sandbed, heck make it deeper if anything.i would look for something else causing the problems.btw i believe the bubbles you see are from the algae/bacteria film itself.

[House of Laughter]

I agree with Jose, I wuld go deep sand.

Here's my thinking (thanks Solbby). I am going with a not-so-deep sandbed in the display tank and a very deep sand bed in the fuge. This will give me the opportunity to remove the fuge sand if it goes bad. A not-so-deep sandbed in the display tank will be turned enuogh by the critters. I think this is going to be a good approach. Also, if you have previously cultured sand, that would be best to start with.

Of course, water changes also work wonders.

House

[nanoreefer22]

I like the way you guys think and like the way i think less . I just went BB in this one cause its so small I guess it just went bad quick cause of the uncommonly low flow. I like the way Jim explained it. With the new setup I'm going to do that.

[joseney21]

i've had a cyano outbreak or two in the past year since setting up my tank.at first i think it just may have been part of the cycle, the latter ones i think was due to overfeeding and lighting problems.i do have cyano now, here and there in the tank(unnoticeable), but i think everyone does.it's part of the tank life.i did treat with chemi clean? once and it was a great quick fix.i believe ron shimmek?? on reef central is the great defender of deep sand beds, he has written some articles with great explanations on how DSB work.read up....

[marrone]

When I just upgrade my tank I changed over from a DSB in the main tank to about only 1" or so. In the sump, which is part refug I have a DSB in there. I have enough worms and critters in the main tank to move the sand around. In the refug I have pods and things that move the sand around also. I never had a problem with the DSB in the main tank but was always worried that stuff would get trapped and something digging in the sand would release a pocket of something bad.

As for Cyano it seems to come and go, if you look on RC people, who have had tanks up for years, all of a sudden get an outbreak of Cyano just out of the blue sometimes.

[nanoreefer22]

Its so confusing. Does it really come down to your preference? I like the SB because I like the look of it. Starboard doesnt look bad but its not realistic IMO. Thats why I decided on the SD, Thanks Jose!!!

I know with the BB you can have way more flow, but how do you know when enough flow is enough?

[marrone]

DSB work but so do BB tank alot of it does come down to what your preference is.

Just like all the fads and trends in the hobby something get hot, and everyone starts to do it, and then some one else comes along with something else and everyone starts to jump off the bandwagon. There are plenty of people running DSB for years without any problems, mine was up for a # of years and it worked fine before I changed the tank over. There are even people still using plummes(sp) in their tanks and have great results.

I have a tank that being running since 1987 and it was setup as a reef tank and back then you place just a fine layer of sand or crushed coral on the bottom, kinda of like what alot of people are doing now.

[nanoreefer22]

Michael, I'm gonna do that same thing that you guys did with a shallow SB in the main tank and a DSB in the fuge. The way I get the benefits of the DSB but still get to have sand in the tank.