Sand bed

[Doug]

Thats why I mentioned above to limit the rock and any thats used should be elevated. We once talked about doing an sps tank with only a couple of pieces of rock, elevated above the plenum on piles {pipe}, and having most of the sps pieces attached to the glass and overflow. Nothing wrong with then having some extra rock in the sump, as long as it can be kept clean.

The limited use of rock in the tank, will also help relieve caclium demand with the coralline. The 4-5in. of gravel will provide more than enough biological filtration.

Of course this limits types of fish, that require lots of hiding places & rock, like many of the smaller fish & dwarf angels, etc. Once the sps grows, more hidey spots are there. I know if I was a fish, this would not be my favorite habitat, at least not at the start.

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by Doug

Thats why I mentioned above to limit the rock and any thats used should be elevated. We once talked about doing an sps tank with only a couple of pieces of rock, elevated above the plenum on piles {pipe}, and having most of the sps pieces attached to the glass and overflow. Nothing wrong with then having some extra rock in the sump, as long as it can be kept clean.

The limited use of rock in the tank, will also help relieve caclium demand with the coralline. The 4-5in. of gravel will provide more than enough biological filtration.

Of course this limits types of fish, that require lots of hiding places & rock, like many of the smaller fish & dwarf angels, etc. Once the sps grows, more hidey spots are there. I know if I was a fish, this would not be my favorite habitat, at least not at the start.

:P

... I just don't like substrate.

There, I said it. LOL!

[DJKoop]

When I was planning on using the plenum way I was going to have a 3" bed using Caribsea Seafloor Special Grade Sand. 1-1.7 mm diameter grain. According to them

"This grade of aragonite is specifically engineered for plenum type nitrate reducing beds.

The pore water space created by precision grading also allows maximum pH support and dissolution of calcium carbonate."

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by DJKoop

When I was planning on using the plenum way I was going to have a 3" bed using Caribsea Seafloor Special Grade Sand. 1-1.7 mm diameter grain. According to them

"This grade of aragonite is specifically engineered for plenum type nitrate reducing beds.

The pore water space created by precision grading also allows maximum pH support and dissolution of calcium carbonate."

Before you make any sort of commitment, I'd ask around on RC and check how many people have long-term success with plenums in a reef tank.

On the other hand, if you're set on plenums, then you're set.

[andsoitgoes]

Albert - what are your thoughts on reducing a sandbed in an exisiting tank? I know there are spots behind my LR that I'll not be able to get at, but a LARGE portion is in the open and removable. If I was able to get this out each cleaning and left a small amount in the front, just to keep the tank bottom covered - would this be enough to rpevent the problems with a sand bed crash?

[DJKoop]

The only reason I have brought up the plenum line of things is Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation has lots of tanks and nearly all of them run with the plenum/sand bed and lots are over 5 years old and doing great. They do more research and fraging than anything else. I have found this place to be a great source of info. Fragging videos, and more. It's just that I've never heard of them ever having a problem and the tanks look absolutely amazing. I've never seen tanks stuffed so solid with corals before. And all growing like mad.

[Reefer Rob]

Check out these 2 articles by Toonen & Wee
An Experimental Comparison of Sandbed and Plenum-Based Systems. Part 1: Controlled lab dosing experiments
An Experimental Comparison of Sandbed and Plenum-Based Systems: Part 2: Live Animal Experiments

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by DJKoop

The only reason I have brought up the plenum line of things is Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation has lots of tanks and nearly all of them run with the plenum/sand bed and lots are over 5 years old and doing great. They do more research and fraging than anything else. I have found this place to be a great source of info. Fragging videos, and more. It's just that I've never heard of them ever having a problem and the tanks look absolutely amazing. I've never seen tanks stuffed so solid with corals before. And all growing like mad.

That's all in the eye of the beholder. See what the Europeans think of the GARF tanks and... Well, no, ask for yourself:

http://www.reefitalia.net/forums/index.php?

There's a few over there who speak English.

In contrast:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=971190

As far as I can tell, none of those tanks incorporate plenums and most use some form of probiotic (prodibio, zeovit, etc) or chemical filtration (carbon, phosphate reactors, etc) to keep their tanks low nutrient. Those methods are philosophically antithetic to those of DSB/plenum flavor; however, they will support substrate.

Anyway, like I said, it's all subjective. I'm sure the GARF method works, but they have access to live substrate. That's a pretty BIG advantage over us folks here.

As far as their knowledge base and experience goes, well, my opinion is beyond the scope of this post, but you'll find some pretty mixed reviews over on RC.

Drat, I should be doing homework, LOL!

[Doug]

First my comments on plenums are in regards to running them correctly, as Jaubert intended and not the other dozen different ways aquarists have tried, some with success but most failing.

Second if dsb does not work, have a look at the coral growth in Nigel,s FTOTM and Quinn,s tank in the journal forum. Both of these aquarists have run dsb,s for some time. I cant speak for them but both have told me its part of their success.

Point being, they all work if done correct and properly maintained for that particular type of system.

[Reefer Rob]

Remember, Jaubert used only live sand from the Red Sea in his tanks. Makes all the difference if you can get live in-fauna. The crap that came out of my sand when I sucked it out after 2 years of running a DSB was something awful