Sand: Good or Bad?

[kmeans]

I have about 2in of sand in my 65gal and was wondering everyone opinion on sand. It seams that most tanks I see are bare bottem. Is no sand better for the tank?

 

[burning2nd]

not better.. different,

this is my first BB tank and now i see that it doesnt change you detritus status.. in fact i can see more of the stuff that settles now in my tank were b4 with sand it would blend in.

on the other hand 2" of sand provides something for the tank..

so i think the right answer is preference,

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Main benefit of barebottom is that you can easily siphon off the detritus where in a sand bottom tank you wouldn't really see it or you would siphon up the sand trying to get rid of it. Also you have basically no flow turnover rate restrictions with a barebottom tank where if you really crank it up on a sand bottomed tank you will have a snow storm.

 

[FreakinReefin]

I have about 2in of sand in my 65gal and was wondering everyone opinion on sand. It seams that most tanks I see are bare bottem. Is no sand better for the tank?

This is always a debate, but the fact is that a "thick" sand bed does create an anerobic state which helps the health of the tank. If it's a thin sand bed it usually just blows around and creates a mess.

 

[kmeans]

I delt with a sand storm for a few months until it was sudgested to me that I turn my spray bar, I did and no more sand storm! So is a 2 in sand bed a good depth or not?

 

[FreakinReefin]

I delt with a sand storm for a few months until it was sudgested to me that I turn my spray bar, I did and no more sand storm! So is a 2 in sand bed a good depth or not?

That's a decent depth yes. I believe I have a 3in depth in my 65, however I also have a plenum to help get more of an anerobic stasis.

 

[kmeans]

That's a decent depth yes. I believe I have a 3in depth in my 65, however I also have a plenum to help get more of an anerobic stasis.

So I am some what new to this still so bare with me for a moment please ...What is a plenum?

 

[mfinn]

not better.. different,

this is my first BB tank and now i see that it doesnt change you detritus status.. in fact i can see more of the stuff that settles now in my tank were b4 with sand it would blend in.

on the other hand 2" of sand provides something for the tank..

so i think the right answer is preference,

+1
I agree it is personal preference.
I happen to like a 1" to 1-1/2" sand bed in my tanks. For one thing I like the way it looks and it gives my wrasses a sand bed to sleep in.

 

[FreakinReefin]

So I am some what new to this still so bare with me for a moment please ...What is a plenum?

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...mages?q=aquarium+plenum&um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch:1

That will tell you all about it.

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

I delt with a sand storm for a few months until it was sudgested to me that I turn my spray bar, I did and no more sand storm! So is a 2 in sand bed a good depth or not?

It depends on the size of the subtrate, larger sized sand would need to be deeper since it lets more flow through it, sugar sized sand 2"-3" should be perfectly fine.

 

[roblou]

If you have an acryllic tank and you use a magnetic cleaner to clean the algae off the sides, you'll be cursing sand after the first time you get a grain or two caught between the algae cleaner and create nice long scratches

Just my experience, YMMV...

Rob

 

[mfinn]

That's a decent depth yes. I believe I have a 3in depth in my 65, however I also have a plenum to help get more of an anerobic stasis.

How long have you had your plenum system setup?
How is it working for you?

I had several setup in the early 90's.

 

[roscoe]

All preference.... I have a love hate relationship with sand. I love how it looks but hate how it can trap detritus and I can't have the flow I want without the flow displaceing the sand. You can always have a remote DSB to create an anerobic state zone. With that said I will slowly siphon my sand out with each water change.

 

[roscoe]

If you have an acryllic tank and you use a magnetic cleaner to clean the algae off the sides, you'll be cursing sand after the first time you get a grain or two caught between the algae cleaner and create nice long scratches

Just my experience, YMMV...

Rob

This is why I won't ever by an acrylic DT!!

 

[FreakinReefin]

How long have you had your plenum system setup?
How is it working for you?

I had several setup in the early 90's.

It's only been setup for about two months in this new tank, so not really long enough to help yet. However I am sure it is starting to work. From what I understand(really just what I have been told), when you start to see the little air bubbles, against the glass in the sand bed, then it should start to generate the layers of breakdown within the plenum. Only time will tell...

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

All preference.... I have a love hate relationship with sand. I love how it looks but hate how it can trap detritus and I can't have the flow I want without the flow displaceing the sand. You can always have a remote DSB to create an anerobic state zone. With that said I will slowly siphon my sand out with each water change.

My feelings exactly, i personally don't ever want fine sand ever again. I slowly siphoned out mine in my 20 gallon each water change it was more of a pain then it was worth.

 

[FreakinReefin]

All preference.... I have a love hate relationship with sand. I love how it looks but hate how it can trap detritus and I can't have the flow I want without the flow displaceing the sand. You can always have a remote DSB to create an anerobic state zone. With that said I will slowly siphon my sand out with each water change.

Sarang is exactly right with the remote sand bed. It is often more recommended to have a very deep (4"-6") sand bed in a refugium and have good flow in the DT. Many say that flow is the key to everything with a reef tank, which is why many go with BB.

 

[jrgilles]

I have a 1" sand bed. I researched this some when I just set up my tank. I also have a fuge. I ended up with ~1" (2 bags into my 75) in the Display tank and bare bottom in the fuge.

From what I read, a deep sand bed can do some good things, but it can also trap a lot of bad things. So, if you were to go in and stir up a 3" sand bed, you could get a huge nitrate spike, as well as spikes in whatever else is in there. If not distrubed, it adds beneficial filtration.

When I set up, I talked to a guy who had a sand bed that he had to remove because of problems, and he said it was nasty and a big pain in the butt. He is now doing bare bottom for easy cleaning.

I did bare bottom in my fuge so it is easy to clean, then the main reason I put a thin layer of sand in my display is for cosmetic reasons more than anything else..

 

[FreakinReefin]

Also there is the argument with whether crushed coral is better than fine sand. Fine sand being the better trapper of gasses and crushed coral being a better trapper of detritus(bad). The better is really the combination of the two. Sand to trap gas and crushed coral to hold the sand down.

 

[kmeans]

If you have an acryllic tank and you use a magnetic cleaner to clean the algae off the sides, you'll be cursing sand after the first time you get a grain or two caught between the algae cleaner and create nice long scratches

Just my experience, YMMV...

Rob

As a matter affact that happened to me about a week ago, but luckly it was on the outside of the tank and not the inside!