Live Sand vs. Cutting Boards

[Wolverine57]

Hello ALL!! Hope you all having a great day! Would like to hear your opinion regarding live sand vs. cutting board (bare-bottom). I have cutting board instead of the live sand in my tank. Guess, I heard a few members here on MR using cutting boards instead of the sands.

I seem to have mix emotion and I really want to do this right! Appreciate your comments.
Thank you!

 

[daisy]

I had a deep sand bed for years and liked the way it supported the micro-life of my tank, though there are all kinds of concerns with sand - too shallow and you have problems, too deep and you get a different set of problems. between 2.5 and 3 inches, and you get anaerobic as well as aerobic bacteria plus worms, stars, pods and other life in the sand that can benefit the tank. With enough life in the sand, the sand will stay clean and will be an invaluable part of the reef.

I've recently met folks on this site who have a dsb out of their show tank, and I think that's probably the way I'll go next time - that way if the dsb crashes, starts to pollute the water, they can disconnect it from the main tank, take the sand out and start over again. That way you get all the benefits of the dsb as a live filter, but minimize risk to the tank from dsb crash. If you're going to have a fuge, then I'd say that's the way to go.

Best of luck!