A deep sand bed or a shallow one ?

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David Burton - 28 Aug 2004 22:45 GMT

All,

Another question which still perplexes me is this concept of sand beds and
whether they should be shallow or deep. The guy in my LFS swears blind that
you should keep it shallow as he says a deep bed just holds rubbish,
nitrates etc. To this end I have always had a sand level in between the two
..

What are your thoughts / opinions ?

David

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Richard Reynolds - 29 Aug 2004 01:09 GMT

> Another question which still perplexes me is this concept of sand beds and
> whether they should be shallow or deep.

and for answer #1 out of a zillion different ones :D

>The guy in my LFS swears blind that
> you should keep it shallow as he says a deep bed just holds rubbish,
> nitrates etc.

to that point so what!!! be happy they are not in your water column !!!! as for them
"holding nitrates" no but phosphates and *other* yep. but whats the problem! the point is
to not have them in your water, IF it comes down to the DSB holding the phosphates and
*other* and every 5+ years you really do have to replace your DSB (something that is
significantly lacking in proof!!!) then go for it replace it, it did its job!!!

>To this end I have always had a sand level in between the two

thats a bad idea, there are reasons to pick one or the other, one of many, inbetween sizes
will have the anoxic zones, but they wont be large enough to work and wont be protected by
the sand above them.

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Richard Reynolds
Richard.Reynolds@usa.net

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Benjamin - 29 Aug 2004 04:17 GMT

Richard,

Kinda great "proof" is in the mind of the beholder huh?

I am glad the toilets in my home are "flush to drain" porcelain and not
"sleep with sewage" plastic porta potties! I'd rather be glad the nasties
are outta my system than miserable wondering why they are simmering inside
of it. So long as a DSB (or any sand bed, device, etc.) is attached to the
water column, it is part of it in my book.

Seems to me the question was which is better, DSB or SSB. I think they are
different tools designed to accomplish different things, same way with a
plenum, no sand bed, refugiums, lighting choices, any other tank device,
etc.... one is not better than an other until one knows what the specific
application is. They each have benefits, rules to follow, best case
application, and so on. Using one (or more) incorrectly is where many,
myself included, have fallen. Learning how to intermix more than one is the
hard and time consuming thing. Even more difficult when many people seem to
follow the current BS (Bastardized Science..hehe) fad at the time instead of
learning the how's and why's first.

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> > Another question which still perplexes me is this concept of sand beds and
> > whether they should be shallow or deep.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> will have the anoxic zones, but they wont be large enough to work and wont be protected by
> the sand above them.

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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / August 2004

A deep sand bed or a shallow one ?