DSB, SSB or BB Experiences

[Reefer Rob]

Well it's finally happened, I suppose it was inevitable. I've finally had my faith in DSBs shaken up a bit. I've been doing some reading since some recent discussions about sand on Canreef, and it turns out I may have missed a few of the finer points about DSB maintenance. It seems that even the most notable proponents of DSBs are saying you need infauna recharging on a regular basis to keep them healthy. I don't know why I breezed over that the first time. Since these kits don't seem to be available in Canada, I'm now wondering if DSBs are viable here long term. I plan to upgrade to a 180 or a 225 in the new year, and I hope to be able to sort through all the conflicting opinions by then to know what I want to do for substrate

So here's what I'd like to do.

First, I am hoping we can have a civil discussion on the subject.(please)

I would like to find out what people think of their DSBs, SSBs and bare bottoms. I would especially like to hear from anyone who has had a DSB running for 4 or more years, and have them tell us how they feel about it.

Right now I'm leaning towards a SSB in my display, with room for a couple of remote DSBs IF NEEDED.

[Moogled]

Hi Reefer_Rob.

I've had a 33 gallon barebottom tank running for about 4 months now. When it comes to maintenance, BB has certainly made my reef easier to keep clean.

The detritus mostly collects in several dead points which make removing waste a CINCH. That way, I don't have to worry about the continually siphoning water while I search for the areas that have detritus.

I've noticed that some people on the board do not like the look of a BB tank. However, painting the bottom (you can spray the back too) of the tank white makes the final product seem similar to a tank with a sandbed. Another bonus is that the white paint also reflects light.

[safety4fire]

I have had my tank running for about four months now with a DSB. It works for me so far. I have a lot of things that stir up the sand Dragon Goby, snails, crabs, and starfish. I suggest if you do go DSB, you might want to consider a Dragon Goby. The only drawback is the sand that ends up on the coral, can be taken care of with a turkey baster.

2Cents

[littlesilvermax]

I had a DSB for 2 years and never had any of the problems that many say you can have, no major algae problems, no HUGE nutrient trap. When I took it out the sand was almost all very clean.

That being said my 250 is BB and I will never go back! After a while the whole bottom is coverd with coraline, and since I used starboard (actually cuttingboard) the zoos have almost covered the whole bottom.

Pros:

-less expensive
-more room for water
-allows more flow which keeps detritus in suspension
-no critters to buy again and again
-things like OM 4-way don't get clogged
-no sand storms

cons:

-some animals need sand
-nassarius snails are cool

IMO sand only looks good for a little while, and then it never looks great. Nobody that has come over to my house has mentioned the lack of sand. My corals (mostly SPS) are all growing like mad. In fact my very first coral (probably first 10) were all SPS and I didn't find them hard or finicky at all.

[Chin_Lee]

I had a ssb (0.5") in my display tank which was just thick enough to cover my eggcrate I had laid down to put the rocks on. Bad mistake because the flow in the tank created sand storms and exposed many parts of the eggcrate. Eventually the sand became ugly and I contemplated for a long time but finally decided to suck out the sand exposing all the eggcrate. But I now have a new tank currently being set up, I have decided to go BB. But instead of smooth glass, I glued a thin layer of sand to the glass with Envirotex Lite which is a two part epoxy that is considered reef-safe. It dries hard as a rock and is rather rough to touch. Here's a pic of the faux pas sandbed around the drop cloth.
(please don't mind the mess and no the sand is not purple striped)


My plan is to have some seio's or tunzes aimed at the ground in the center to push out the detritus to the sides where I will be able to siphon them off. With a real sandbed, that will not be possible.
I'm all for BB for the same reasons as stated by Ben:
- easier maintenance
- higher flow
- eventually you can get a zoo covered floor

The ONLY advantage I can think of for sand is esthetics - it looks good. Its hit and miss to accomplish a good well-populated sandbed that is effective long-term.

[Jedi68]

Hey Chin; that's a pretty big tank.
I am also thinking about a BB tank after my struggle of keeping the DSB esthetically pleasing. I really like your idea of the sand bottom. If you don't mind me asking, where did you buy the expoxy "envirotex". Thanks!

richard

[vanreefer]

Hey Chin,
Tanks looking good... now I know where you've been hiding

Dan

[Reefer Rob]

My main reason for the sand would be for esthetics, I really like the look of sand. A zoo bottom sounds REALLY cool though. Probably would denitrify better than a sandbed at any depth as well. I had always thought BB meant either coraline bottom or another surface to scrape.

[fishface]

does anyone know of a way to make a "removable" faux sandbed? so if you're not happy you with it...out it comes.

[dirtyreefer]

I did the faux sandbed like Chin mentioned on my new tank. I used Envirotex Lite (you can do a search for it, then check out the Canadian retailers that carry it) and glued the sand to starboard so that it could be removed if I didn't like it.

What I found when setting up my new tank is that I got a bit of an algae bloom (until the skimmer kicks in and skims out all the other crap in your tank). Since the sand is hard, the algae and coraline and everything else sticks to it so it's a b#*ch cleaning it. I found that it looked dirty all the time (with the stained green, brown and coraline algae colors), even after I scrubbed it with a course brush. Let's just say now I've buried it with a SSB and won't go back.

Basically I've tried barebottom (on my old tank, hated the look of it), faux sandbed (didn't like the dirty look), and SSB. I've never done DSB nor will I ever try it. I think I'll always be a SSB lover since every water change I siphon out as much sand as I can and replace it with new (or washed) sand to keep it clean. Never had any problems this way, but YMMV.

Maintenance wise, BB or faux sandbed is the easiest to keep clean. I just can't stand the look of BB IME. Some people can make theirs look good, but I can't. I am more for looks so I'll spend a bit of extra time replacing and siphoning sand to make my tank look as natural as possible.