Sand bed Depth

Hello, I have kept nano reefs for three years now and I have started my first large reef(90g). My question is, what depth are people running there sand beds. I currently have about 1.5 to a 2" bed. I've heard arguements for and against deep beds and I was wondering If anyone had any input. Thanks

 

1 inch

 

About 1.25 to 1.5 inches

 

Same as others, about 1 to 2 inches depending on where my pistol shrimp is working.

 

depends if you want a deep sand bed not for looks but for benefiting your tank
you need to be at 4inches minimum i do 6 in mine

if you just like the look of sand do 1 inch but vacuum it and keep it clean

 

my 90 has 2" for the sandbed, i'm considering bumping that to 3 inches cause i'd like to add an engineer goby - they love to dig

for functionality I have a deep sand bed of 5" in my fuge which can be isolated from the main tank if there is a problem with it.

as for cleaning the sand, talk to john at reefcleaners and he will recommend a Clean up Crew(CUC) that will sift and clean your sand with no extra help from you.





For those of you joining us that are new to the hobby - the best piece of advice you'll get around here as a saltwater newbie is 3Reef's slogan
"Go slow, let it grow."
And for those experianced hobbyists joining us - it's still good advice
good luck and post pics soon



read these and then come back and ask about anything you still don't understand. we'll get you squared away and on the right path

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/how-setup-saltwater-aquarium-89044.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/ultimate-newbie-guide-86462.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/protein-skimmers/all-about-skimmers-skimmers-skimmer-85389.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/handy-research-links-89299.html

 

I run functioning deep sand beds in all my tanks and have done so for about 7 years now. The benefits are many and minuses are few if you take care of the DSB. Mine are 5-6" deep, in my 100G thats 330 lbs of Southdown. I try to keep the digging critters to a minimum so they don't disturb the bacteria but keep lots of nassarius and other snails as well as spaghetti worms and mini brittle stars to keep it clean.

Dr. Ron Shimek has some good stuff on DSB's found here:
http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

We were lucky enough to have one of his former students in or reef club for several years and she taught us a buch on the subject. It was amazing to look at all the fauna and flora in a good DSB under her microscopes which were brought to meetings for our viewing pleasure. The differences between a good DSB and bad DSB were very visible.

 

Thanks for the input. I have one more question, I am taking down my other tanks to stock this one. I have seen people cycle tanks with damsels and I was wondering if It would be wrong to cycle this tank with the two clown fish in one of the tanks i'm tearing down.

 

I am following AZDesertRat, 5-6".

M

 

Cycling with live fish is inhumane, its not necessary to put fish through that stress and possible death. We as aquarists should trying to provide the best environment and treatment we possible can. I'm no treehugger of activist but I try hard to subscribe to that notion.