how many # of sand

Ok so if I use the sugar grain and do a deep sand bed I can expect some sand movement for a while till it all gets packed in. Then i should not vac the sand ever?

 

I think it's best to use a variety of sand sizes, add a little bit of crushed coral to your sugargrain and it would help in keeping it settled while still having sugargrain, by time the larger pieces will rise to the sand bed and the smaller ''sugargrain'' will be under it.

 

Exactly.

 

To each his own, mine is 330 lbs of pure Southdown with no larger grains at all. Finer sand particles will support a greater amount of colonizing bacteria and are easier on the snails and sandbed animals since they do't have the sharp edges that cut and pack down.

There are many opinions on the subject.

I do not vacuum the sand once it is established as this exposes the anearobic and anoxic bacterias to oxygen and can cause an upset. Others do vacuum their sand beds but I personally would thing that negates the functionality of the DSB. There are a lot of articles on all the forums, some are dead set against a DSB and go bare bottom while others like a shallow decorative sand bed and other have a DSB but as I say vacum or disturb it on a regular basis.

I find once it is functional I keep the digging critters to a minimum and keep lots of varied snails like nassarius, cerith, trochus, astrea, turbo and maybe one fighting conch and the sand stays clean and well populated with good critters.

I would either keep it under 2-3" and vacuum it regularlly or go 5-6", leave it alone and limit things like sand sifting stars and fish that dig or burrow.

 

No, not for a deep sand bed...

"Most sediment-dwelling organisms appear to have similar precise preferences. However, most will also live at least marginally well in mixed-sediments with sizes around their optima, and most sediment particle size optima seem to be in the range of 0.050 to 0.200 mm. Consequently I suggest a range averaging about 0.125 as a good compromise. It isn't specifically the best for most infaunal species, but it will allow a diversity of species to live pretty well."

Larger sand grains don't support the infauna you need to keep a DSB healthy long term...

Ron Shimek's Website...Deep Sand Beds


It continues with...
"Coarser sediments such as gravel or crushed coral are simply too big. Additionally, they have the drawback of being sharp edges that are abrasive to many of the small crustaceans and worms that must crawl through the sediments. Finer sediments can pack so tightly together that they are impervious to most animal movement, creating a layer that restricts animal and water flow shutting down the biological filter.

Having to assess sands for particle sizes would be a daunting task for any hobbyist. Fortunately, however, several vendors sell bulk sands in the appropriate size ranges, often marketed as "sugar fine" or oolitic sands. A few larger particles in the sediment mix is okay, but larger sediments should not constitute more than about 15 percent of the total. Under NO circumstances should you use crushed coral or coral gravel. These substrates are too coarse and often too abrasive for many of the smaller organisms to survive in."

Finer here refering to mud type consistencies...

Sugar fine sand is Grain size 0.1 - 1.0 mm. still can be a little large for a DSB but most all hobbyists have come to the conclusion that it's close enough and it still works.

 

Don't vac the sand. There is no need. If the sand bed isn't white, then get a clean up crew with no hermits from Reefcleaners.org. That will take care of it! Don't keep any hermits, sand sifting stars or gobies. They eat the infauna that keeps the bed healthy and all the above can wipe the population faster than it can reproduce.

 

I was lucky enough to have one of Dr. Ron's graduate students in my reef club so we spent many meetings looking through microscopes ate all the members sand beds and critters. We would all bring in a cup of sand then place it under the scope and try to count and identify the fauna and flora. Those with finer sand that had been undisturbed had many times the life of those with larger grains and those that were stirred or vacuumed. Same with those that limited the burrowing and sifting critters versus those that used only snails and minimal digging creatures.

It was very ineteresting and educational to say the least.

 

If I do vacuum the sand, which is maybe 5-6 times in its 9 year existence, I vacuum only the top 1/4" or so and then do so in small sections, maybe one square foot at a time over a period of days. I have not done this is probably 2 years now as there is no need.

 

That would have been so cool! What an interesting experience!

 

Grim, what's your cleanup crew consist of ?