Need some advise on sand cleaners please!!

[NightShadeFairy]

Thanks all! I will read up on that article, thank-you. The DSB is only two months old, I seeded it with my old sand. It cost a pretty penny, I will work with it for now rather than get rid of it. I appreciate the advise all around!

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by Myka

Ron Shimek recently wrote a great article about DSB in the Coral Magazine entitles Dragonets (Nov/Dec 2011). Ron Shimek is definitely the DSB expert of the hobby. If you don't have access to the Coral Magazine (you can order back issues online) you can check out Ron's website. http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

UUUUURRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH, Ron Shimek

Look, love the guy's science as much as the next hobbyist, but I still have to argue against the recommendation of a sand bed.

Why? Because, through no fault of his own, attaching his name to a method has basically given people a free pass to setting up what is usually a disastrous bed of creeping death. Most people think 'sand bed', see his name as a proponent and just settle it there -- "but Ron Shimek said it was spiffy, so it MUST be the best!" The problem is that they don't bother to READ into why sandbeds work and why what they're doing is exactly the WRONG THING.

Hint: Read the article and pay careful attention to grain size.

But let's say we do follow the rules and use the proper grain size. Then what? Then we can't use high flow! As a mental exercise, what two scenarios are likelier?

1. Hobbyist A has a sand bed of the proper grain size and is able to seed it with the proper diversity required for long term operation of a DSB.

2. Hobbyist B spends money and buys readily available powerheads for flow. Flow rocks. Flow is the single most important consideration for the long-term maintenance of a reef.

The problem with assuming the first proposition is that we are setting up reef tanks with animals collected from (get this) reefs! Sand and reefs are two different habitats. The animals and materials collected from reefs pretty much fulfill none of the duties that are so important to making a sand bed work properly. NONE. Why? For the same reason that gorillas make bad seagulls. They're different.

But what about live sand?

No. No one orders live sand. Try to buy it at your store, I dare you to. Not going to happen. Hell, I don't even remember the last time I've seen it offered on the transship and wholesale lists. And no, that bagged stuff from Caribsea is not live sand. It's merely seeded with bacteria. It has zero diversity. No worms, no brittle stars, no foraminoforans, etc, etc. In that article, it says:

"One organism's poison is another's nutrient."

This is true, but if you're missing any links in the chain, it falls apart.

Anyway, not to rag on OP, this is more for anyone who hasn't yet set up their tank. DSB's are a pain to remove.

[stewy84]

Interesting, what about 1/2" of sand instead of DSB or is that just the same?

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by stewy84

Interesting, what about 1/2" of sand instead of DSB or is that just the same?

No, not the same thing. A DSB promotes an anaerobic level were 1/2" of sand will get moved around enough to remain aerobic.

[TimT]

IME the best critters to keep a sandbed clean are Tigertail or pink belly sea cucumbers. They are the equivalent of an underwater earthworm. They eat the sand, digest off the detritus and bacteria, and expel nice clean white casings of sand which break apart at the slightest current. Cucumbers also go under the sand as well. I have found them over 4" under the surface of the sand.

Cheers,
Tim