Tiered/sloping sand bed?

becky46 · Feb 12, 2022

Hi all, Is there an easy way to have a sand bed that is sloping or tiered, where one end of the tank is fairly deep and the other is not? I have a blue spot jawfish in my 25G. and there are about 4 inches of sand. I'm planning to go with a bigger tank, but I'm not in love with the idea of having a 4 inch sanded throughout a 100G tank. Thanks.

ying yang · Feb 12, 2022

Place something In samdbed at edge of where you want it deeper to hold the sand back.
Used to use rocks this way in freshwater aquascaping to have different levels,would be slightly easier in freshwater as I used a small Gravel and not sand.
But dont see why it wouldn't work if positioned rocks/ shells in correct place under the sand.
Never owned that fish but believe they make intricate tunnels so in the deep part just leave him enough room to male his tunnels and not block his tunnels off every few inch if get me.
And some coarser crushed coral or some small rubble rocks thrown in maybe a good idea so he can strengthen the entrances and / or tunnels if he wants .
But as I say I never owned one so maybe not needed but sure you've researched what's needed so you ve good to go ^_^

Ryde · Feb 12, 2022

You could try making an artificial borrow with pvc pipe.
Here is some more insight: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-goby-cave.255179/
Always thought this was cool.

flagg37 · Feb 12, 2022

I had an LTA that prefers deeper sand. I also had an eel with a a PVC cave that I used to create a “baffle” of sorts to contain the sand.

It does require you to scoop it back into the area every now and then.

vlangel · Mar 9, 2022

My tank has exactly what the original poster asked about. My pic is not the best but you can see that the sand bed is much deeper on the right side. This tank has been functioning this way for about 5 years and no problems at all. An added benefit is the denitrification in the DSB portion. I used large dense rock as a retaining wall but if I were to do it again, I would use plexiglass as a retaining wall to stop sand leakage. Then I would put a rock wall in front of the plexiglass to disguise it for a natural look.