Similar but different I have a 3/4” crushed coral substrate mostly because I like the “more natural” look. I usually vacuum as much of this bed as I can reach when I do my 10% water change. My tank has been set up for 9 yrs. My nitrates and phosphates stay at a very low levels.
Are Deep Sand Beds really a thing of the past?
- Thread starter Kitjo
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tweeter
Valuable Member
I have a tank with a deep sandbed. It has been running for 9 years now and still going strong. I have fish that bury in the sand bed, and others that dig holes in it sometimes. I gravel vac it probably six times a year. I have a good skimmer, a refugium,and use no3po4x. I like mine....
Borat
Valuable Member
my bad! Cheers!
Sean Clark
7500 Club Member
I alway have good intentions of cleaning it all up. It is always an exercise in futility.
I use DSB w no issues. IMO the DSB crash occurs when they aren't maintained. Entire DSB should be cleaned/siphoned every 5 yrs or so 1/4 sections at a time to prevent DSB crash. Here's a good read on sand maintenance.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY - Clean Sand: Is it sustainable and how much care does it take?
Today let's talk about a subject that has never been touched on in the aquarium hobby. Clean sand! HA! :p If you're like me you love the look of sand in your aquarium. Clean sand, not dirty sand! If you have sand or have had sand you know that it can get dirty pretty quick and at times seems...
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Nonya
Valuable Member
Interesting. So what's the mechanism that leads to excess phosphate in the DSB?I use DSB w no issues. IMO the DSB crash occurs when they aren't maintained. Entire DSB should be cleaned/siphoned every 5 yrs or so 1/4 sections at a time to prevent DSB crash. Here's a good read on sand maintenance.
QUESTION OF THE DAY - Clean Sand: Is it sustainable and how much care does it take?
Today let's talk about a subject that has never been touched on in the aquarium hobby. Clean sand! HA! :p If you're like me you love the look of sand in your aquarium. Clean sand, not dirty sand! If you have sand or have had sand you know that it can get dirty pretty quick and at times seems...
SPS2020
Valuable Member
I had one for a few years and broke the tank down to recover all the lost space. It did work, but as others have mentioned it is a waste of space in the DT.
There is quite a bit of information on wet web media:
There is quite a bit of information on wet web media:
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bruno3047
Valuable Member
I’m shocked by the number of reefers on this board that pay zero attention to their sandbed.I use DSB w no issues. IMO the DSB crash occurs when they aren't maintained. Entire DSB should be cleaned/siphoned every 5 yrs or so 1/4 sections at a time to prevent DSB crash. Here's a good read on sand maintenance.
QUESTION OF THE DAY - Clean Sand: Is it sustainable and how much care does it take?
Today let's talk about a subject that has never been touched on in the aquarium hobby. Clean sand! HA! :p If you're like me you love the look of sand in your aquarium. Clean sand, not dirty sand! If you have sand or have had sand you know that it can get dirty pretty quick and at times seems...
Borat
Valuable Member
How much time do you spend thinking about your sandbed?
Karen00
2500 Club Member
My tank area looks like this. I dread having to unplug or recable something. It takes me 10 mins just to trace the cabling to the correct device. I too have good intentions.
Kindred spirits! LOL
bruno3047
Valuable Member
Every six months I do a thorough cleaning of my sandbed using the Python 36 inch gravel cleaning tube. I remove about 35 to 40% of the water in my 125 during this process and then I replace that water with new water. I do no other water changes until I do it all again six months later. I hang a Marineland water polishing filter in the tank while I’m doing this to clean up as much of the crap as I can before it settles back into the sand. I dose Kent Essential Elements with my auto doser to maintain trace levels. BTW every single thing I do to my tank is dated on an Excel spreadsheet.
Borat
Valuable Member
By the way - I use sugar sand in my DT and it's pristine clean (like in one of those advertisements) without any maintenance whatsoever. It's shallow sandbed - about 1 inch deep, intentionally so..
I m just curious about having a deep sandbed in my refugium - I generally like those non-conventional (natural)setups , mine is already non-conventional as I run skimmerless/filterless with ATS and refugium being the only nutrient export tools.
I m just curious about having a deep sandbed in my refugium - I generally like those non-conventional (natural)setups , mine is already non-conventional as I run skimmerless/filterless with ATS and refugium being the only nutrient export tools.
Borat
Valuable Member
Mate, you will find zero detrius in my sand after about 2.5 years of running the tank... It's spotless white and clear... It's argonite and and its very small grains. My wrasses constantly stirr it by burrying into it and so there is absolutely nothing to clean..
My rocks are elevated above sandbed - so there are no dead spots either..
bruno3047
Valuable Member
It’s comical when I see posts on this board like “my torch coral is dying and I have no idea why”. So I ask “when was the last time you cleaned your sandbed.” Many times the answer is “never”. So I just shake my head and move to the next post. If I try to tell them that their sandbed is killing their corals I get flamed by all the “experts” here. So I stopped trying to help people with their sandbeds.
bruno3047
Valuable Member
Great. Be proud.
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