4" dsb in my display tank... Mistake?

[Biff0rz]

Been doing a bit of reading and it's a pretty active topic. I plan to have a mainly sps dominated tank. I was going to run a 4" deep sand bed in the display. Is this a bad idea? I see so many options on it. I also see a lot running bb.

 

[GoVols]

Been doing a bit of reading and it's a pretty active topic. I plan to have a mainly sps dominated tank. I was going to run a 4" deep sand bed in the display. Is this a bad idea? I see so many options on it. I also see a lot running bb.

Might want to research / remote deep sand bed benefits

 

[Biff0rz]

Might want to research / remote deep sand bed benefits

I've seen that. I still don't know what's best.

 

[James M]

IMO going bare bottom is best for a sps tank. You can turn up the flow all the way without worrying about sandstorms

 

[GoVols]

I've seen that. I still don't know what's best.

I like the remote option, so all the gasses are not inside the reef. That way they won't release into your reef if you need to disturb your sand bed.

Just one reefer's opinion if you go the deep method, for gassing off nitrates ...

 

[GoVols]

IMO going bare bottom is best for a sps tank. You can turn up the flow all the way without worrying about sandstorms

Yeah,
I've been BB for a long time too.

 

[secret_reefer337]

Go bare bottom, you can play with your flow without worries.

 

[Waters]

I personally wouldn't go any deeper than 1/2" to an 1".....that being said, I have never had a reason to have to need a DSB to remove nitrates. A shallow sand bed is much easier to safely maintain.

 

[hart24601]

Considering you want sps dominated tank... bare bottom is going to be your friend. Grow acros right on the bottom if you want. If you really felt the need for dsb then do it remote, but consisting most modern sps tanks even with bare bottom have a hard time staying above 0 nitrate and 0 phosphate there is little to be gained from adding this complexity.

now if you just love deep sand, nothing wrong with that, just be aware It will be challenging to keep with full sps tank. Reef crests (if trying to match one- aka shallow water acros) are rock bottom, so sand a couple inches from acros isn’t their natural environment in general.

 

[Biff0rz]

I really like the look of sand, so I am leaning that way. I also like sand sifting critters, again, leaning sand. After more reading it looks like 1/2" to 1" is probably best, I will just need to commit to cleaning the sand. No big deal there, it's worth the effort. My only decision now is, do I go 1/2" or 1". I'm leaning towards 1" assuming the amount of flow, and trying to avoid bare spots.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Imo sand only causes problems would will never set up a tank with it again. Just make a “sand Litter box” for those sand loving creatures!

 

[Biff0rz]

Imo sand only causes problems would will never set up a tank with it again. Just make a “sand Litter box” for those sand loving creatures!

Not ready to go bottomless yet. The wife wants a sandbed and she's letting me spend all of this money...so sandbed and maintenance it is for me. I'm thinking 1".

 

[HuduVudu]

Been doing a bit of reading and it's a pretty active topic. I plan to have a mainly sps dominated tank. I was going to run a 4" deep sand bed in the display. Is this a bad idea? I see so many options on it. I also see a lot running bb.

I have run plenums for years and what I found is the rock on top of the sand makes "shadows". This causes grief with the bed i.e. smooth flow of nutrients in and out. The option that I found that works better is to set up the bed so that their is nothing on top of it. This can be anywhere you like. I personally used 3" PVC to create a small bed that had nothing on it. As long as I made sure my wife didn't stick stuff in the empty area. You can also use your sump. For what it's worth.