What do u think? Are sandbeds and refugiums evil?
- Thread starter eagle
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"Rqeerrqqrqrrqr"...somehow, I had a vision of someone passing out on their keybord and this is what came out 
In my experience, a shallow 1" or so sand bed is good for a tank IF it is vacuumed regularly to eliminate buildup of harmful substances as well as allow the nitrogen cycle to proceed efficiently.
When I set up my latest 12g Nano tank nearly five years ago, I added a 1" sand bed. Per many posts at the time, disturbing the bed was not recommended. But, after a year or so, nitrate became a problem that no amount of water changes would cure. Long story short, weekly vacuuming of the bed was the key to having no detectable nitrates or phosphates (Salifert) in the tank.
In my experience, a shallow 1" or so sand bed is good for a tank IF it is vacuumed regularly to eliminate buildup of harmful substances as well as allow the nitrogen cycle to proceed efficiently.
When I set up my latest 12g Nano tank nearly five years ago, I added a 1" sand bed. Per many posts at the time, disturbing the bed was not recommended. But, after a year or so, nitrate became a problem that no amount of water changes would cure. Long story short, weekly vacuuming of the bed was the key to having no detectable nitrates or phosphates (Salifert) in the tank.
Ron Reefman
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Tampa Bay Reef Keepers
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Just my personal experience, for what it's worth. I have a 180g DT and all my LR is held up on eggcrate about 2" above the sand (2"+ deep). I also have a 70g anemone tank with 2"-3" of sand. The sump has a 2'x2'x16" refugium with lots of slow growing chaeto and a seperate 2'x2'x7" DSB. Since my tank cycled 3 years ago my nitrates have been zero and phosphates low enough that the chaeto grows very slowly. Corals are mostly sps & lps and are doing fine. BTW, there is a yellow sea cuccumber in each sand bed and 2 in the DSB (where they stay near the surface.
OP
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eagle
Active Member
Thx. The only reason i asked was i can see in the tank with fish etc getting a lot of detritus buidup etc. Just didn't know how that worked if u had a lot of sand in a fuge. I mean there isn't any detritus in there to build up. Was just curious
My 5-6" 330 lb Southdown DSB is over 9 years old and never looked better. I couldn't imagine it any other way. Never been vacuumed or disturbed in any way and still as white as new,
I gave up on the sterile BB look a decade ago and would never go back other than for a temporary hospital or QT tank.
I gave up on the sterile BB look a decade ago and would never go back other than for a temporary hospital or QT tank.
RavePartyReef
Active Member
We can have buildup of nutrients in LR too, in which some hobbyists have untreatable algae issues at some point or another. There are many reefers that are successful with sand in their tanks, and I believe the po4 buildup can be controlled with a gfo reactor from day 1. I am a hobbyist for many years and never had issues with po4' or algae and thing is because I don't over feed and keep phosphates levels to a minimum. If someone does not control that element, the tank will be a timebomb and there will be an issue at some point.
KoleTang
Valuable Member
It is also a good idea to turkey baste your rockwork to keep stuff from building up.
Oh man, I am cracking up :xd:
"Rqeerrqqrqrrqr"...somehow, I had a vision of someone passing out on their keybord and this is what came out
Oh man, I am cracking up :xd:
