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b-ridge

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 87.8%
79   11   0
I have a 75 gallon that I am using as a fuge. I am thinking of a deep sand bed of 3-4 inches. Is that a deep enough sand bed for my fuge or should I go deeper and if so how deep? I plan on having chaeto, dragons breath, ulva, and whatever other macro algae that I can place in there without going asexual. Some that I could possibly trim and feed the fish as a snack/treat. Other question I have is would it be ok to keep snails, crabs, conchs in the fuge to keep the sandbed aerated and to rid of some detritus? Or would they disrupt the sandbed so much to where the macro algae can't grow?
 

bertyboy69

Advanced Reefer
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
18   0   0
The sand and algae are not really related , you can keep snails and crabs in the fuge but they may eat ur algae , as for the depth of the sand , i beleive 4 inches is the minimum but the deeper the better , or else your just not going to get the anerobic bacteria you want from a dsb , and you have to make sure the first inch i believe is mixed and aerated , im sure someone with more experience will answer

I personally never had a dsb because they can be very bad for the tank unless you have a remote dsb in a sump or seperate fuge tank and i never had the room for that

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs
 

jackson6745

SPS KILLER
Location
NJ
Rating - 99%
201   2   0
Shalow sandbed, deep sand bed, or bare bottom?. There are many arguments for each and you will get varying opinions. I personally don't like DSB's because it is more difficult to keep proper water quality. I speak this from experience.

The one thing I can tell you for sure is that macros can grow just fine regardless of the amount of sand that you use. Look into dosing an iron supplement for macro health.
 

b-ridge

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 87.8%
79   11   0
I was reading on garf that I should look into a plenum for my dsb. My dsb will be in my fuge separated from my main tank and sump. I was reading that I would need a minimum of 6 inches for my sand bed. Build a plenum and then put my sand on top
 

cmantis

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
103   0   0
Although they can be really good if done right it isn't easy and I wouldn't want to have to deal with it. That being said on my new tank I am looking into a remote sand filter.
 

reefer4eva

Advanced Reefer
Location
Glendale,Queens.
Rating - 100%
282   0   0
I always kept a 2 inch sugar size sandbed and never had issues.was always scared to due a deepsand bed for the simple reason of hydrogen sulfide gas that can develop without even a warning and this gas is highly toxic!all it takes is something to die under the sand,maybe a wrasse,sand sifting starfish or a snail.besides all that a deep sand bed has to be maintained on a regular basis(as taking care of the corals I house isn't enough maintainence )failure to due so can result in hydrogen sulfide gas pockets.a bare bottom tank to me looks so unnatural.
 

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