how many inches should a dsb be?

[spacenyc]

setting up a 75 how deep should the bed be, does it matter if it is fowlr or a reef as to the better size sand bed?

 

[roxsburyrage]

I would say 5-6 inches of a fine sand is perfect in my experice.Some people go 6-10 or more.I have seen.I would say 6 is a good number cause remember you will lose some sand over time.

 

[spacenyc]

5-6 seems to be the number

most people responding say that number, 5-6. thanks

 

[tommy818]

4 is fine

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

6-8

 

[tommy818]

way to much

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

How do you figure ? 4" is not deep......:splitspin mine is 6"....

 

[tommy818]

actually 2 to 4 is enough for denitrification.its all personal referance but 2 to 4 is enough.

 

[Marteen]

I've also heard people recommend keeping your DSB in a separate fuge type container connected to your sump. So when it gets old you can replace it without fear of crashing your tank.

 

[damian05]

how do you know when your sand is old??

 

[Bob 1000]

Why sand and that much at that is just a waist and a spike/problems waiting to happen..

 

[MIKE NY]

There are a few good articles in regards to DSBs....the depth depends on grain size. The smaller the size the shallower the bed for it to be effective.

 

[spacenyc]

why does smaller size grains work better in shallow

im using sugar sized

 

[alfani]

im using sugar sized

i'm guessing that smaller size sand reduces the oxygen for bacteria to grow faster, less air bubbles. i had 1 inch sandbed but increase to 2 now

 

[kigs]

i can't remember exactly but in an old article on DSB and their functions, it noted that they are almost useless unless properly set up through enough depth / surface area...which is why most ppl prefer a remote DSB instead of in their display. i *think* it was 6''+, someone feel free to pull up the article, my memory's drawing a blank right now...

 

[JLAudio]

Also depends on what type of animals your planning on keeping. Certain wrasses, Jawfish and inverts usually need a deeper bed to adjust to captivity well

 

[Keith P]

So with fine/mixed grain sand, would 2-4" be a "safe" DSB and would it not limit what sand dwellers we can keep?