Mixed depth sand bed

[sg88]

Sand bed depth seems to be a topic that breeds strong opinions and devoted followers of very different approaches as revealed in the following series of posts, among others.

(https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/pros-vs-cons-deep-sand-bed-vs-shallow-sand-bed.87740/)

However, does one approach preclude the other? I am setting up my first sump-based marine aquarium, a 50 gallon cube 24"x24"x20". I have one piece of hardscape that will come from my current 15 gallon FOWLR (with a few zoa's and paly's) tank.

I am wondering about a mixture of deep sand bed and shallow sand bed. I envision a cavern like one would see on a typical near-shore scuba dive with rock outcroppings coming forward to the front of the tank with a tapering sand bed between them. Significant tapering of substrate depth is common in freshwater aquascaping (where I have a little more experience) but I have not seen it discussed much in reef aquaria.

Any experience mixing deep and shallow sand beds? Any particular troubles? I would plan to leave the sand bed basically alone...maybe some minor vacuuming of the shallower areas.

 

[Chrille26]

Thats how my sandbed is unintentionally since my sandsifting goby pushes sand around mostly to the back, my black clownfish makes a hole in the sand to sleep and currents move the sand around.
I havent really noticed anything negative or positive about it, the deeper parts have some sort of worms burrowing around in it and it tends to grow more algae and buildup of detritus on the glass where the sand covers it.
Other then that it seems to work fine.
I do try to move the sand back while doing maintenance but its soon back to where the goby wants it.

 

[sg88]

Thats how my sandbed is unintentionally since my sandsifting goby pushes sand around mostly to the back, my black clownfish makes a hole in the sand to sleep and currents move the sand around.
I havent really noticed anything negative or positive about it, the deeper parts have some sort of worms burrowing around in it and it tends to grow more algae and buildup of detritus on the glass where the sand covers it.
Other then that it seems to work fine.
I do try to move the sand back while doing maintenance but its soon back to where the goby wants it.

beautiful setup...and the sort of concept I envision, although planned rather than acquired (maybe our fish know more than we do about the ocean!) and thinking even deeper on the back. Do you vacuum you sand through and through, just the surface or not really at all...especially the back thicker area?

 

[jmsilhy]

Bump, have the same question!

 

[SteveG_inDC]

I am a diver and get the idea of wanting your tank to look like the ocean, but this could be hard. I would think the sand will level itself over time unless you install a barrier, in which case it won't be sloped. Best bet if you want to this route might be to point a powerhead at the shallow part to keep it that way. Sandsifters and gravity could always undo your work though.