How much sand?

[rainsong]

Hi:

I am a saltwater newbie and am getting ready to setup my tank. I read up about deep sand beds (DSB) and decided to go that route. My 150 gallon tank is 60" x 20" x 22". Based on calculators I see that for a 6" deep bed I would need 450 lbs of sand! At 10 lbs/bag from Petco, that is 45 bags.

Does this sound correct?

Thanks.

 

[elorablue]

Hi:

I am a saltwater newbie and am getting ready to setup my tank. I read up about deep sand beds (DSB) and decided to go that route. My 150 gallon tank is 60" x 20" x 22". Based on calculators I see that for a 6" deep bed I would need 450 lbs of sand! At 10 lbs/bag from Petco, that is 45 bags.

Does this sound correct?

Thanks.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa Nelly!
That DSB article you read must've been very old. Standard sandbed depth is 1" to 2". ymmv

 

[adittam]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa Nelly!
That DSB article you read must've been very old. Standard sandbed depth is 1" to 2". ymmv

Deep sand bed and standard sand bed are two different things, though…

Also, to the OP, if you order online and pickup in store, you can save 25% on every order, as long as you figure out a quantity that your local Petco has in stock. The max discount you can get per order is $50 off, but you can make multiple orders and use the discount each time.

 

[rainsong]

The Aragonite at Petco is only $5.39 for 10 lbs with free same day delivery. I was more taken aback by the number of bags and weight of the sand.

 

[Kfactor]

I only did 1” will be easy to clean and maintain

 

[rainsong]

Is DSB no longer a "thing" now?

 

[Mikedawg]

Is DSB no longer a "thing" now?

Yeah, trend is more toward "no sand" bed, meaning bare bottom for some. I think the rest of us like 1" - 1.5"

 

[rockdiver]

1 pound of sand per gallon

 

[Reef.]

Do you really want 6 inches of sand? That will take up a lot of space, just the amount you will be loosing in water volume will be significant.

If you do want a dsb you run the risk of any disturbance of it will release unwanted pollutants into your tank, and will have to live with how it looks, they don't tend to look pretty, you'll most likely see a good few inches of it from the front of the tank where it meets the glass, not a pretty sight... I'm not sure if any benefits of a dsb would make up for all the down sides.

The filtration options we have today means we don't need to run these risks, nutrients can be exported many different ways and are going to be much more efficient than a dsb IMO.

 

[Timfish]

If you can find a copy of Vol III of Delbeek and SPrung's "Reef Aquarium" Series that's probably the best place to see the science and discussion on the different approahes to setting up DSBs. DSBs do work well for denitrfication if set up and maintained properly but since denitrification is done within the coral's holobiont also the cost/reward equation can be debated. As pointed out above it does take up serious space in a display tank. I would definitely use some sand if you choose not to set up a DSB. There's a lot of important biology that happens in the sand with sponges, fungii and endoliths as well as worms and other "stuff".