dsb depth

[greatgman]

can u tell me how deep a dsb should be
for my 90 aga with aragonite aragamax select
i have at current 2.75"
i'm thinking 3.5 - 4 inch

are they crash prone?

 

[Sam]

Your thinking is correct int terms of the depth. There is a neat little calculator on this site (see above)that will tell you how much sand you need. As to whether they are crash prone, there are some opinions here that talk about that and some information (do a search) on that topic. However, the consensus is that the DSB, especially if a reef set-up is the way to go.

 

[XXFirefighter]

figure a pound of sand a gallon for a pretty safe DSB. I have a fish and a few snails that stir up my sandbed... It's great... no dead pockets or anything like that.

 

[phases99]

Just how many pounds you need is also going to depend on the size of the grain. For a DSB it is preferable to use the finest grain as you don't want detritus to settle in the bed. I used around 2.5 lbs per gallon to get 4.5" in my 46g.

 

[seafan]

figure a pound of sand a gallon for a pretty safe DSB.

I don't think so, I have 70lbs of sand for my 55gal and thats only like 1.5" definitely not a DSB. That amount will do some denitrification though.

 

[indy]

I think I had about 120 in my 55 for an average 3-4" depth. I have I think 220 in my 112 for about 5-6" average. As for being crash "prone", I'd say no. There's a ton of them out there and you have to search pretty hard to find any actual testimony of a crash. Lots of rumors tho. And there is always the possibility of a factor outside the sandbed causing the crash, and the sandbed being mistakenly blamed. And of course there is the possibility that in the event of a true dsb crash, that it is the substrate and not the method that is to blame. It's one of my personal theories, but since I don't have a dozen sandbeds setup to run the next 5 years to prove/disprove it, it's just a theory

 

[malkore]

I've got 60lbs in my 40gallon breeder. I have a good 2-2.5" depth. Prolly should go deeper though.

 

[Jason]

When you guys say crash are you talking about the apocalypse of you tank or your rocks caving in?

 

[jaiden]

a dsb crash means a release of toxic substances that kill the whole tank. anoxic bacteria due to lack of infauna seems to be the culprit.

 

[Jason]

just checking.
thanks.

 

[seafan]

The truth us the likelihood of "deadly hydrogen sulfide gas" being released is pretty low, especially if you have a couple sand sifters in your tank. My advice get some sand sifters.
If you read The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Palmetta you know why I put "deadly hydrogen sulfide gas" in quotation marks.