How many pounds?

[JerseyWendy]

Wow Wendy, look what you started! Poor newcomer asks an innocent question and raises a sandstorm of controversy!

For your 75 with sump and fuge, do what you think looks right. You're going to have plenty of other filtration processes taking place, so the amount of sand YOU choose shouldn't be that big of a deal.

As for rock, same thing. On the surface, 100-120lbs sounds pretty good. It's all going to depend on how dense the rock is and how tightly packed you want your "reef" to look. The standard recommendation is 1.5 to 2 lbs per gallon.

I'm sorry for apparently opening a can of worms, I really am. :-[

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Wendy

 

[concept3]

I'm sorry for apparently opening a can of worms, I really am. :-[
---
Wendy

It's Okay to ask questions! We all learn from it.

Ever wonder why I have no sand? LOL

 

[eholceker]

Here is an article from marine depot. my experience using DSB's seem to be the same.

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...articles_great_substrate_debate.asp?ast=&key=

 

[RevClyburn]

There's always a debate/controversy over sand, DSB, SSB, Barebottom,Starboard, which one is right or best? Really, there are tanks out there that have existed for years with sand and without. It's really up to you.

I love my DSB, and it's over 4". I built mine the old way, Jauberts style,(built around a plenum) and I'll keep doing it that way. (A plenum is eggcrate, with pvc pipe on the bottom to keep it off the bottom of the tank. Then covered with nylon screening. Sand is placed on this,then another layer of screening, then sand again). When I get my next tank, bigger, I'll probably not use as much sand, but there will be sand nonetheless. The choice is yours and the arguments will rage forever. If it's not this, it's T5 vs MH. That's how this hobby is, everyone has a opinion.

rev

 

[Carlo]

Here is an article from marine depot. my experience using DSB's seem to be the same.

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...articles_great_substrate_debate.asp?ast=&key=

That's one of the best short articles I've read on the subject and I'd have to say I agree 100% with it from all my testing. The only thing I'd mention or point out for those not familar is that the article says: "3–3.5" is required as a minimal working bed". This is the minimal and not "optimal" depth. Also this is also oolitic grade sand mixed with small crystal size sand. Oolitic sand is almost powder like while crystal size sand is usually in the 1mm range with nothing bigger then 2mm in size. Many people who do DBS use 2-4mm size sand which is going to take a much deeper sand bed to get to the minimal depth.

Just to give an idea of the current tank I'm immediately setting up after the house move next week (while waiting on the "big" tank). I'm going to go with about 1" of 2mm size sand on the bottom of the tank. I've found 2mm size sand doesn't get blown away as easy as smaller size sand but yet doesn't trap detritus like crushed coral does. The main display tank itself is 265 gallons. As part of the system a 125 gallon tank will be used as a refugium (skimmer, reactors, sump are elsewhere). The 125g refugium will have about 4-6" of oolite sand at the bottom covered with about another couple inches of 1-2mm size sand on top of it. That will leave me a good foot and a half left of water volume for macros. By going real deep on the sand bed I can occasional syphon off a top layer to clean things up as needed and then replace it. Since it's not a display tank and will not be seen it doesn't matter if the sand becomes discolored. Being 6' long and having the water travel the length of the tank will give me very good contact time too. I expect this to help dramatically once the bed becomes established and allow me to run even higher bio-load then I do now. I fully expect with the current equipment I'm running and this to be able to have 100-150 nice size fish in the tank! That's my goal anyway.

Carlo

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here is an article from marine depot. my experience using DSB's seem to be the same.

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...articles_great_substrate_debate.asp?ast=&key=

Thank you very much for that article. It answered a lot of my questions.

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Wendy

 

[blange3]

PS yes there are lots of opinions about sand beds. I got tired of hearing all the different approaches and tested all different types of approaches myself to see what does and doesn't work. I take what I hear these days with "a grain of sand" since I've been there and done that.

Me too! Mine works, and it all comes down to how you manage the system as a whole.

I'm not about to get into a Bomber vs Shimek debate here. The important thing is if you like the look of your tank, you'll maintain it. So go with what looks good to you, Wendy.

I have a 75 gallon mixed reef lit by VHO's skimmed by a Coralife 125, with only a Mag 7 and 2 maxijet 1200's, don't have a calcium reactor, target feed my LPS, grow macro algae in the display, don't measure phosphates or use anything like phosban, and have a 2" -3" sandbed. I can go to any forum in RC and get flamed ;D; but the tank looks great, I have steady growth, I'm not broke and I'm very happy with it. I also run a 55, primarily softies tank, with even less sophisticated equipment, and it's pretty cool too!

But the price I pay is I watch my water parameters fairly close, do 20% water changes every 4-6 weeks, harvest algae weekly, clean filter socks a couple of times a week, and dose Randy's 2 part formula daily. A bit of work, but I love it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brian]

It's amazing how sand can become a huge debate!

In the 3 tanks I have now, One has about 1-2" the next has about 3-4" and the last has about 4"+

There is no ryhme or reason to why I did it. I just bought the sand I liked and went with it. I also tried Tahitian Moon Black Sand in my 90g; if you want something different you can try that!

Whatever you choose to do, just have fun with it!

 

[Carlo]

<snip>

Whatever you choose to do, just have fun with it!

Agreed. Depth of sand is a "personal thing". In my mind the only thing to remember is if you have a depth of 4" or more you want to make sure not to disturb anything below about an inch.

Make the depth any amount you think looks good. HOWEVER, if you are creating a deep sand bed for the purpose of denitrification then you do want to go as deep as possible and use small/fine sand to get the effect you want. Other then that go with what looks good to you but watch using crushed coral as it's to big and traps detritus and other organics that cause problems with high nitrates and higher then normal phosphorus levels.

Carlo

 

[JerseyWendy]

Thanks again, Carlo.

I will steer clear of crushed coral. The stuff I'm ordering is called Aragamax and is sugar-sized (0.2-1.2mm). I don't think I'll be going with the "deep" sand bed (over 4") just because my tank isn't that huge to begin with. Don't want to take away too much depth, if that makes any sense.

---
Wendy

 

[Carlo]

Yes it does make sense. The Aragamax you described is ideal for the subtrate. Just use as much of it as you think looks good TO YOU and you're set.

Carlo