Should I get rid of my deep sand bed?

[bluebbo]

I have a 75 gallon reef tank thats been running for about a year with a 5-6 inch sand bed and I've been reading that it's really not beneficial and will eventually cause a crash. Obviously, I do not want any sort of a crash in my tank so I'd thought I ask many of you experienced hobbyist.

I have a 30 gallon sump with chaeto, 5 fish(2 damsels, 2 clowns, purple tang), a few sps corals, lps corals, and softies. I know the tang might not be compatible with my tank size, but so far it's fat and happy, so hopefully the tang police won't hijack my post. :hmm3:

Should I get rid of the sand bed? I could siphon them out slowly and and make a dsb inside the sump if I need to. Is the dsb in my main display something that's just unnecessary? Just thinking about working on taking the sand out makes me worry, but if it's something I have to do to avoid catastrophe, it's really a no brainer. Please help!

[Jerokane]

There are reefers out there that run dsb tanks for years without problems.

[Khoad]

I tried a DSB and had bad luck.

[sabalough]

DSB is a good setup if you understand it and respect it.

[zma21]

After a while my DSB began leeching crap back into my water and had a never ending algae bloom.

It's not worth the risk in my opinion. The only place I'll put a dsb in is in a fuge.

[tom499]

10 years and counting with 4-5" sugar sand.

[gregmoeck]

yeah watch out, I got in trouble with the mods because I asked what size tank I should get for a tang.

[bluebbo]

Looks like i'll start siphoning out the sand slowly until i'm left with about an inch since most of you are saying it'll be trouble. I do have a BRS GFO reactor running and have occasional green algae on the rocks, but now that I think about it, most of them are on the lower side where they are closer to the sand. Maybe the sand is leeching stuff out.

[Stuart60611]

Looks like i'll start siphoning out the sand slowly until i'm left with about an inch since most of you are saying it'll be trouble. I do have a BRS GFO reactor running and have occasional green algae on the rocks, but now that I think about it, most of them are on the lower side where they are closer to the sand. Maybe the sand is leeching stuff out.

I would even go lower than an inch and aim for .25-.5 inches. Sandbeds deeper but not deep enough to operate as a deep sandbed ime almost always turn into a nutrient sink.

[bluebbo]

stuart, thanks! I'll go for that depth.

[outy]

most DSB's are benificial for about 5 years ish and help reduce nitrates

aFter 14 years of DSB and rebuilding the SB every 5 years and just building a 215g tank I went with another 5-6" DSB

my last tank went almost 4 years without a water change and growth was amazing during that period, overskimming, GFO and a DSB helped to keep daily/weekly/monthly maintanence way down

ditch it if you want youll just face more work in the long run

[jasonrp104]

In my current tank I have a dsb. It works great, helps keep my nitrates down, and supports all sorts of critters. My only real issue is that I don't trust it. I can see how much gunk is in the sand and I have a hard time letting it sit there to do it's thing. The look of it after while is kind of nasty too. I've allready decided that my next tank will have an SSB just so I can keep it clean and siphoned.

DSB's work great, I just want something different the next time around

[cloyd A.]

I've had DSB (6")in both my DT and my fuge for over 15 yrs.( with no skimmer)and have never had a problem.About every 2-3 yrs. I add 5 lbs. of new live sand to each tank.

[jeff@zina.com]

I have a 75 gallon reef tank thats been running for about a year with a 5-6 inch sand bed and I've been reading that it's really not beneficial and will eventually cause a crash.

Has everything you've read been vetted by "Internet Experts?" Yeah, same group is often quoted in the Enquirer as "UFO Experts." :)

Getting scared by something you read is not the way to manage a reef tank, you'll be changing something every week. And in fact, depending on your live stock, you may need a deeper sand bed. Do your research, make small adjustments and, whatever course you choose, don't choose it in panic about what might happen to a completely working environment.

Jeff

[njdevilsfan]

Looks like i'll start siphoning out the sand slowly until i'm left with about an inch since most of you are saying it'll be trouble. I do have a BRS GFO reactor running and have occasional green algae on the rocks, but now that I think about it, most of them are on the lower side where they are closer to the sand. Maybe the sand is leeching stuff out.

this is the way to crash your tank
if you want to get rid of it
take everything out of the tank into storage bins
take the dsb out and clean and reclean the tank
then put your stuff back in

[gregmoeck]

the ocean has sand for a reason, the dude in thailand with the massive great tank has sand, i have sand

[edandsandy]

this is the way to crash your tank
if you want to get rid of it
take everything out of the tank into storage bins
take the dsb out and clean and reclean the tank
then put your stuff back in



+1

[Nerd1717]

I have a DSB and a barebottom...... Both are work but the work is different. There is no magic trick that works for everyone.

[Uncle Salty 05]

the ocean has sand for a reason, the dude in thailand with the massive great tank has sand, i have sand

+1

[bluebbo]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. Seems like there are many differing view points, but I agree with everything many of you are telling me. I didn't think siphoning out the sand little by little would cause a crash, so I might just take everything out and re set up. My setup seems to be working as my sps and life stock are showing great growth. This is the reason why I'm so scared of a crash.. Anyhow, I'll do my best to take the right path from the advises I've received here.