set up dsb.

[yashua]

how long will it take my deep sand bed to mature enough to start producing results.nitrification etc,etc.

[AlexR]

i dont know the scientific specifics. But ime, i think you will start feeling like its doing whats DSB's do after about 4-5 months.

[yashua]

that long huh.any other exp. out there,i mean its set up so,however long is however long just curious.

[outy]

it takes time to grow all the anarobic bacteria that you need in the deep sand layers.


running DSB for 14 years I would not be waiting to rely on one for denitrifacation unless you have sand 6"-8" deep and then its only going to partialy denitrify.

i dont think Alex is far off base at all, 6 weeks some of the bacteria takes hold but not the complete fauna of bacteria you need

remember your bioload needs to match

If you feed every other day and only have 1 or 2 fishes in a 100g tank with a 7" DSB you may get away with 2 months, cube a day for feeding and 8 fish you will still need to do water changes to reduce nitrate and phos. Now add a fuge to that with chaeto and you can hold your system stable