fernandokng
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Manhattan, New York
Yes, I read his article on Wet Web, and he's recommeding atleast 3 inches.
How deep should your sand bed be?
- Thread starter fernandokng
- Start date
For de-nitryfication? 3 inches? NO Way.
His book states at least 6 and in his RDSB on Marine Depot's forum section he says that even 6 isn't much.
I am so sick and tired of people telling me it is "natural" to have sand in your reef tank. Nearly all the corals we keep are found on rocky substrates (some people like to call them 'coral reefs') which are far, far from any true sand zones. I am all for the remote sand/DSB for nutrient processing but true reef building coral occur in areas with so much water movement that any sand that settles is quickly blown away. Besides, having corals in the sand puts them right in the heart of the momentum boundary layer with the most reduced flow in the entire aquarium. I prefer to use white PVC/starboard on the bottom for use in reflecting light.
Keep in mind that the first successful reef tanks were run on the "Berlin Method" of reefkeeping which advocated no sand, big skimmer and strong flow.
Keep in mind that the first successful reef tanks were run on the "Berlin Method" of reefkeeping which advocated no sand, big skimmer and strong flow.
fernandokng
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Manhattan, New York
I beg to differ. Unless you you are trying to recrate the look of natural reef by only trimming the top of the reef structure (last 24" or so) then you are 100% correct.
Been scuba-diving in Jamaica numerous times and while the top positioned corals are moved and crushed by waves, the area around the reef structures is always layered with sand.
I love you! I am glad I am stalking you!
Its amazing - even after posting pic after pic of corals from different wild reefs way way above the sand, people still insist that sand is natural for a coral tank.
I am not convinced that denitrification isn't effective in shallow sand beds, and think that you should have as much sand as you think looks good. Having 3+ inches in a show tank takes up way too much valuable display space for my taste.
Sounds logical. My new 180 will have about 1.5 inch in the tank and proly 6-8" in the fuge.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
You West Coast guys are so behind the times. Bare Bottom systems are so Reef Central circa 2002-3. Sand is back baby :biggrin: Seriously, I've aways found 2" just about right aesthetically and I've never relied on the bed for de-nitirification.
FWIW, Jamaica is an extremely bad example of what a coral reef should look like. The coral cover there is so low that the legendary Discovery Bay Marine Lab responsible for much of the fundamental reef ecology research of the last 30 yrs shut down since there were so few corals left to study. Ironically, one of the biggest causes of coral death is sedimentation from terrestrial erosion.
another sand :fight2: :help:
I went from BB to a 2"SSB. I like the sand for it's looks, and I think it gives pods a place to grow to feed my mandarins and pipefish. I also planted some macro algae in the sand to give the pods more shelter.
Don't forget if you do have sand to have a large enough cleanup crew to help keep it clean.
I went from BB to a 2"SSB. I like the sand for it's looks, and I think it gives pods a place to grow to feed my mandarins and pipefish. I also planted some macro algae in the sand to give the pods more shelter.
Don't forget if you do have sand to have a large enough cleanup crew to help keep it clean.
...should have as much sand as you think looks good. Having 3+ inches in a show tank takes up way too much valuable display space for my taste.
Totally agree about 3" being too much but bare bottom looks totally unnatural. Logic would dictate that sand is more natural than glass, unless you're trying to say that your reef is suspended (floating) in the water.
Imo anything under 5 inches without a plenum dose crap accept , risk amonia levels to spike when your power head falls hit ur sand bed or something eles like that stirs the sand bed up. 1-3 inches I think is just for the people who like the sand bed but dosnt want to have all the brown stuff show up in front, put a deep bed in ur sump, if thats the case, as jhale say it looks cool with a sand bed and it a great place for all type of pods to grow, which is exellent for your tank, what works for you might not work for me!
Well I used Jamaica as an example here, but sure enought I haven't seen a reef as a never ending tall rock with corals on it. Down at the bottom there is always sand. No corals on sand (that's true) but reef structures always have sand in between. It's a sea, not pool.
It depends on what you define as the 'bottom'. I have seen plenty of reefs that are rock 'bonnies' with large areas on top that slope off to the sand or muck. I also don't think comparing a bottom that is 50 feet from the coral is the same as 3 or 4 inches in a tank. I have also seen rock walls that are reefs - dropoffs that go down for 100's of feet or thousands of feet before reaching sand. There are indeed essentially never ending rock walls covered with corals.
There are ways to make bb way more attractive than just a glass bottom! No one ever comments on the lack of a sandbed in my tank.
Do these look unnatural without sand?
There are ways to make bb way more attractive than just a glass bottom!
No one ever comments on the lack of a sandbed in my tank. Do these look unnatural without sand?
Attachments
- Location
- NY
Sand bottoms are beneficial for other things other than denitrification or even aesthetics. I like to keep various wrasse's in my tank. I also like certain sand sifting stars and gobies. Without a sandbed these animals would not be in their natural environment.
So yes, those reef walls and endless 'fields' of acro's look natural also, but there are numerous biotopes that can be created. A sandbed in my opinion looks more natural than a BB. To each his own. My opinion is the best, because it's mine. Yours is also the best, because it's yours.
swimmer
So yes, those reef walls and endless 'fields' of acro's look natural also, but there are numerous biotopes that can be created. A sandbed in my opinion looks more natural than a BB. To each his own. My opinion is the best, because it's mine. Yours is also the best, because it's yours.
swimmer
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
Im filling my tank bottom with doughnuts next time.
- Location
- NY
Im filling my tank bottom with doughnuts next time.
:iamwithst Funny T........
Rich, no I haven't. Any good enlightening info there?
R
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