Do You use a DEEP sand bed??

[fijiwigi]

4-5" of sand seems a little excessive to me and was wondering how many of you truly have a deep sand bed, your reasoning behind it, and the sand stirring creatures you added if any that really need a deep sand bed. What does 5" of sand due that 2" of sand can not due. I have 25 pounds in my 46g with 10 more pounds debating whether or not to use it in my main tank or just save it for my sump.

 

[Ziggy953]

That is one of those topics that people are usually divided on. I have what I would consider a DSB. Areas of my sandbed are as much as 6"deep and others are around 2". One benefit of a DSB is the bacteria has a LOT of area to develop and do it's work. Draw backs could be they can cause a tank to crash or so I ahve read after a few years. About every 6-8 months I suck out a good chunk of my sand and replace it with new sand (the sand that you can see in the front of the tank that is) It's just a personal thing for me. My fuge has a good 4" across the bottom with tons of macro and LR rubble. You will hear people say it is the best thing in the world others will say that a bare bottom tank is the way to go. It boils down to personal preference and what other forms of filtration you have.

 

[melosu58]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/j_lowrie_061498.html

http://www.ronshimek.com/Deep Sand Beds.htm

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Agree with Ziggy953 totally... there seems to be a real division on deep sand beds as to what is science and what is myth. Even reading the stuff on wetwebmedia, it's kind of a toss up. I remember wracking my head on that "simple" question when I was setting up my tank: "How deep of sand do I want?"

But I can answer your question! 5 inches of sand establishes an anaerobic (oxygenless) environment where nitrates can be converted to nitrogen gas. 2 inches of sand does not establish an anaerobic environment because it's too shallow.

Now what happens if you have something in between those two magic numbers (although I think the normal DSB depth is 6") is where the debating gets interesting!