SSB ok for display?

not REDUCED try NON-EXISTENT layer and population of anaerobic bacteria.unless u have a true dsb anaerobic bacteria only exist in are LR

 

This is simply not ture. Unless of course you are stirring the sand. Then I am positive you will not have any. Over time the sand bed begins to clog hence no water flows through it lowering an already low o2 level. Stirring it stops this process. I am not sure what you mean by sand bed maintenance because there is really no need to do anything to it except if your having a cyano or algae outbreak. Even then your are just disturbing the very top layer. The only thing I do strongly suggest is the use of sand dwelling snails to help keep the sand from getting too compacted and to help scavenge.Sorry to muck up your thread as you can see some subjects are debated frequently.All I can do is tell you what has worked for me for 30 years of fish and coral keeping.Good luck.Also with all do respect to bioreefer I am reffering to a 2'- 3 inch sand bed.I have tried alot of them but find this depth to be the most consistent. A 1inch sand bed I doubt supports a very large pop. if at all.Also I would think a 10 gallon would work but bigger is always better so if you can afford it and have the space fill it up.If you are doing a true refugium DSB with aquatic plants and macro algae a slower flow is good 1x an hour might be a little too slow but then again this is debatable.

 

i guess that would be the case with sugar sand gets all compacted but ive never used the stuff myself but 2 inchs is just not deep enough to be a full functional sb like a true dsb