DSB in 2020

[burgundy]

community discussion on dsb in the hobby.
any tank updates, experiences, thoughts, microfauna, and or knowledge is appreciated.

 

[jeffrey750750]

Naturally the ocean has sand, so on my new 150 build I'm am planning on going roughly 3 inches

 

[burgundy]

Naturally the ocean has sand, so on my new 150 build I'm am planning on going roughly 3 inches

i'd urge you to do 4inches because from everything i've read, 2-3 seems to be a deadzone where it's not deep enough to have the anoxic zone for (de)nitrification (not sure if it's deni.. or not)

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following! I'm interested in this discussion.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Likewise, watching with interest

 

[CoralClasher]

My remote deep sand bed refugium has been going strong for a year and a half untouched. 160 pounds of Oolite sand in a 55 gallon tank.

 

[Zuma]

My 1- 2 inch sandbed coupled with live rock seems to be a great refugium for amphipods and various species of worms.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I have areas in my tank that are at DSB depths, even though I started with a 2-3" bed. In the beginning, I would spend a lot of time correcting it; now it's no longer possible so I've left it alone. So far no effect that I can tell either good or bad.

 

[CoralClasher]

My remote deep sand bed refugium has been going strong for a year and a half untouched. 160 pounds of Oolite sand in a 55 gallon tank.

I might change my opinion next week after I move this tank.

 

[burgundy]

My 1- 2 inch sandbed coupled with live rock seems to be a great refugium for amphipods and various species of worms.

where did you order your live rock?

 

[Thespammailaccount]

My remote deep sand bed refugium has been going strong for a year and a half untouched. 160 pounds of Oolite sand in a 55 gallon tank.

Absolutely stunning

 

[Zuma]

where did you order your live rock?

KP aquatics, highly recommend.

 

[burgundy]

KP aquatics, highly recommend.

i've been debating between them and gulf live rock, but ill probably end up getting rock from both of them

 

[Charles Gallotti]

Naturally the ocean has sand, so on my new 150 build I'm am planning on going roughly 3 inches

Sharing an experiment with DSB, I started a tank with natural sea water and sand from the beach, sand was in bucket inside the sump. Set up the tank quickly so the bacteria would not die. It worked well and did not have any ammonia nor nitrites, like we would normally have when starting a new tank. I did expect nitrates to build up together with phosphate over the months, but after over 18 months with corals and fish...nitrates and phosphates were close to zero and steady. Then I had the idea to remove the sand, since my sump had plenty of live rock and macro algae. Sand was in a big bucket inside the sump, about 10'' inches deep and weighting about 50lb when wet. Display plus sump was about 320 gallons. Few weeks after removing the sand my corals started to loose their color, reduce in size and so on. I measured nitrates and phosphate and both were very high for LPS and SPS. I start to have issues with algae in the display too.
Based on this I do believe that the anaerobic environment in the DSB does break nitrate and phosphate in less harmful material, like N2. There are lots of papers about it.
The sand removed from the system, when I stirred it had a bad smell, was black at the bottom...so it probably had some H2S...probably...I cant confirm. So in my experience and humble opinion, DSB does assist to keep nitrates and phosphates at low levels without reactors. I had to get a reactor with GFO to reduce phosphates and perform more water changes. H2S in theory would be released slowly to the atmosphere and water, however it should be in quantities which will not impact the tank specially with good skimmer and circulation. I am starting a new tank and will certainly have DSB in the sump.