Sand bed indecision...

[jostafew]

Deja-vu hahaha, a very similar question was just posted a couple days ago. Here's an abbreviated version of my previous reply; it depends....

What livestock do you intend to keep? LPS and softies, SPS, sand-sifting animals.... Fish and flow willd determine the requirements of the sand-bend. For eg. I have a canary wrasse which requires atleast 2" of fine sand to burrow into each night. I have sugar sand in my tank which does get blown around, but I accept that limitation and know that my tank will probably never be a killer SPS tank because I have to limit the flow to prevent a sand-storm.

As for the DSB problems, that shouldn't apply to a healthy DSB with the appropriate livestock slowly turning over the sand bed. Pods, worms, snails, and fishes turning over the upper surface should prevent any buildup of toxic gases. Nitrate buildup? Only time I heard of that was with people using crushed coral or very course gravel which collects detritus and allows nitrates to buildup. In order to get the benefits of a true DSB (oxygen deprived zone) you need fairly fine sand.

So think about the livestock you want to keep, if fine sand doesn't jive in the DT, run a DSB in the refugium or an external DSB. If anything I'd say fuge / external is the safest place because it can be easily serviced if needed, then just put whatever suits your livestock and your taste (visually) in the DT.

I'm relatively green at reefing, had a tank for just about 2 years, but I like you have done tons of reading on the matter. Good luck!

[Aquattro]

I went with about 1.5" of sugar sand in my SPS tank. I've since replaced it with a little heavier grade. It still moves around to the point that the front 4" of my tank is bare bottom. I have wrasses that like the sand, so I keep it, and I also put egg crate down below the sand because I'm dumb sometimes. If it weren't for the egg crate, I'd remove it all and add a big container of sand behind the rock for the wrasses to sleep in. I do like the look of sand, and it stays clean, but I currently have a mix of shallow, deep, bare and egg crate bottom. Le sigh....

[ponokareefer]

Here's what made my final decision: there were critters I wanted to keep that needed a deep sand bed, so I went with one.

If there isn't anything that requires sand, try bare bottom for its benefits and see if you like the look. If you don't end up liking it, put some sand in at that point.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I do like the look of sand, and it stays clean, but I currently have a mix of shallow, deep, bare and egg crate bottom. Le sigh....

Is this your idea of the "Best" of all worlds or what?

[asylumdown]

Thanks everyone. I suppose this debate will never be truly "settled". I'll keep weighing the options and we'll see what happens. there is a very small fuge section in my sump (not big enough to have any impact on nutrient levels), so I might try one out in there and see what happens. If anything, I can always add more sand later...

[dc4]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Thanks everyone. I suppose this debate will never be truly "settled". I'll keep weighing the options and we'll see what happens. there is a very small fuge section in my sump (not big enough to have any impact on nutrient levels), so I might try one out in there and see what happens. If anything, I can always add more sand later...

I see it less of a debate and more of personal preference, I had a 3" sand bed in my 29g and when I moved to a 72g, I only have about an inch of sand for my pistol and and a few gobies to call home. It all depends on what you like and what you want to planning to add to the tank.

[Reefer Rob]

Am I the only one who actually likes the reef-crest bare bottom look? Sand is so distracting, it takes away from the corals.

[toytech]

If you like the look of bb and dont mind sucking the crud off it ( or have mega flow so nothing settles ) go that way . If you like the look of sand put enough sand in there to make it look nice then worry about getting some cuc that will take good care of it instead of trying to find a magic depth .I think the only important note for sand is it takes some upkeep .

[asylumdown]

Upkeep is the key I think. In my 90, I had... jeez I can't remember how many snails. But I also had lord knows how many hermit crabs. As time wore on, the number of snails i had dropped dramatically (but my crabs always had nice, new homes to carry around), and my algae problems increased in relative amounts...