Are Deep Sand Beds really a thing of the past?

[Nonya]

A couple of interesting links on Deep Sand Beds…

http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

https://www.saltwateraquariumblog.com/deep-sand-beds-just-thing-past/

I wouldn't call the YouTube sand bed in the display tank a DSB. It's not deep enough.

The Shimek reference is well known and very old (but still relevant). DSBs aren't new, and are very reliable.

 

[Nonya]

It was the left side of a 50B
See I knew the playground sand was a thing. Lol. Before my time...
D

If it was Southdown or Old Castle play sand, it was most likely Caribbean aragonite sand. Packaged as aquarium sand you'd be paying a whole lot more for the identical product.

 

[Nonya]

Interesting thought on how to do maintenance on a DSB in phases. It would require setting up the DSB as quadrants, with something like a perforated wall between the quadrants. Maybe Plexiglas panels with a thousand small holes drilled in them to allow some "communication" between quadrants. Maybe a plastic cross stitch grid? That way, one quadrant could be completely suctioned out without disturbing adjacent quadrants. I have to think about that one.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I never cleaned mine more than the occasional detritus blow out or ball valve opening to flush the compartment
D

 

[Kitjo]

The only maintenance I've ever been "required" to do is to add sand once a year to maintain bed depth. Suctioning is not necessary. IMO, anything that disturbs the deep region of the bed could release unwanted contaminants, so it would have to be done with great care.

I actually would agree with you on this… I was mostly giving a consensus statement as best I could. Dr. Shimek would agree with you.

 

[Doctorgori]

I did the DSB thing for years, it worked for years but I strongly suspect the DSB + laziness crashed my tank…
Im about to do it again in my new build, but in a sump/ settling chamber with cukes , babylon snail, and sand sifting stars….
we’ll see

 

[Doctorgori]

I never cleaned mine more than the occasional detritus blow out or ball valve opening to flush the compartment
D

I wouldn’t disagree with your sample testimonial, but I don’t have the nerve to go without at least adding narcissus snails

 

[squirrelbaffler]

Old picture tube TV’s work still today, but would you buy one for your new Living Room or a 65” HD LED one?

personally have had success with both, but find it easier to run a tank barebottom and use DIY NoPox to assist with Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia removal.

 

[Nonya]

Old picture tube TV’s work still today, but would you buy one for your new Living Room or a 65” HD LED one?

personally have had success with both, but find it easier to run a tank barebottom and use DIY NoPox to assist with Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia removal.

That's a non sequitur. TVs and nutrient export aren't good parallels. Would I go with an old TV? No. Would I use a DSB for my next tank? Absolutely.

Yes, some people prefer NoPox (sounds as ridiculous as JenBen, LOL). NoPox is just a variant on the old VSV (the original carbon dosing), and requires regular dosing to maintain a steady bacterial balance, and testing to check effectiveness. Carbon dosing also adds risk of a crash due to bacterial bloom from overdosing. A DSB doesn't put your entire tank at risk because you set it and forget it (except maybe an annual addition of a couple of cups of sand on top once a year, and won't require constant monitoring.

 

[Nonya]

I did the DSB thing for years, it worked for years but I strongly suspect the DSB + laziness crashed my tank…
Im about to do it again in my new build, but in a sump/ settling chamber with cukes , babylon snail, and sand sifting stars….
we’ll see

Personally, I don't know of anyone whose tank crashed from a DSB "laziness" issue. As far as disturbing it with stars, etc., it wouldn't be a concern if it's too deep for anything to disturb the anoxic zone.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I had a deep (6"+) fine oolitic aragonite sand bed for a few years on the bottom of a refugium. I was never convinced it did anything good or bad and eventually removed it.

 

[Doctorgori]

Personally, I don't know of anyone whose tank crashed from a DSB "laziness" issue. As far as disturbing it with stars, etc., it wouldn't be a concern if it's too deep for anything to disturb the anoxic zone.

I define “laziness” as never cleaning the sand bed, I’m pretty sure that and the funky anaerobic smell was the cause, but I’m open minded…
If you have never seen that happen before, then I’m sorta shocked… Not questioning your testimony or lack of samples in that regard

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I had some critters in there.
Mostly small hermits. And the occasional snail.
I keft

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Only thing that disturbed the sand was the pipe that went down. And it was only when I would re adjust the flow of the turf scrubber above it.
I had some hermits but it was mostly pods and refugium critters. It grew a lot of sponge and I threw some mexi calupra in their. The display grew beautiful geometric red algae.
D

 

[Nonya]

I had some critters in there.
Mostly small hermits. And the occasional snail.
I keft

Harmless to the deep region.

 

[Nonya]

I had some critters in there.
Mostly small hermits. And the occasional snail.
I keft

Kefting is always good.

 

[Nonya]

I define “laziness” as never cleaning the sand bed, I’m pretty sure that and the funky anaerobic smell was the cause, but I’m open minded…
If you have never seen that happen before, then I’m sorta shocked… Not questioning your testimony or lack of samples in that regard

I do know the DSB sulfur smell, but only when I dug it all out to lighten the sump so I could pull it out. From the first time I tried a DSB, I haven't had a crash. Definitely had issues due to other known causes though, but the DSBs have always been reliable and stable.

 

[Nonya]

I had a deep (6"+) fine oolitic aragonite sand bed for a few years on the bottom of a refugium. I was never convinced it did anything good or bad and eventually removed it.

Randy, did you have high nitrates before the DSB? Mine were in the 40-80 range beforehand, and water changes didn't seem to make a difference. I kept measuring nitrates after, and was about to give up on it when, at about the 5-6 week point, I couldn't detect nitrates. I thought my test kit was bad, so I bought another one. Same results. Zero. I've been an advocate ever since.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Keft left. Whatever.
Lol

 

[Nonya]

Keft left. Whatever.
Lol

I was about to Google keft. ;Bookworm