DSB aka deep sand bed

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by kari

and have not seen a rise in nitrates or phosphates. This .

do you have a nitrate level and it has not increased or do you have 0 nitrates?

the reason for a DSB to be a deep bed is two fold. the first is for nitrate reduction (which is also acomplished by live rock so this might be the reason you don't have any, but the DSB is more effective at it. the misconception is how deep you need to go to obtain this.. the answer depends on the grain size of your sand.. if it is a sugar sand you can get a good nitrate reduction in as little as 1"

the second is that a lot of the "critters" that you want for a DSB to function properly need more than 1 or 2" of depth (weather we have these critters in our tanks I am not sure) Dr Ron, although gruf and stuberon , does know about the critters in a sand bed and for a diverse comunity he recomends at least 4". can we get away with less ?probably but why not give everything as much of a chance to thrive as you can.

Steve