how deep of sand bed?

[kelleyga36]

Setting up a new tank 36"by24"by25" 3 side starfire.Now how deep of sandbed should I have. In the current tank 36 gal bowfront. I have about a 3 inch sandbed. But I have a sand sifting goby and he tends to pile all of the sand in large piles. And since the gobys arrival 8 months ago I am always fighting nitrate problems 20ppm. I had 0ppm before the goby.I want to set this tank up in such a way as to avoid the nitrate problems.It will have a sump below it and about 100lbs+ live in it. Should I use course sand or fine? Deep or shallow?
Any input is welcome.
Thanks Kevin Kelley

 

[roundman]

IMO I would go with the finer as the courser will trap more detrius down in it. I also would not go over 3" deep or you may have problems. 4" or more is what you would use in a fuge to get the anerobic bacteria going.

If you have a good clean up crew you won't have much detrius build up and don't over feed.

 

[kirru]

I have a 3.5-4" sandbed and don't really have nitrate problems, i have a Pearly jawfish that tends to stir his side of the tank and a Goby Shrimp pair that stirs a portion of the other side. goby and shrimp are quite the mess make but I enjoy it, still no problems...
My tank is a standard 40br w/a custom built overflow box and a 20l sump/fuge with an 1"-2" sand bed.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

You have three choices here. A) no sand bed... But the people who run those tans are just weird. B) Shallow sand bed, anything under 1". C) Deep Sand Bed, anything over 3". The choice is up to you and their are pros and cons to each. You can mix and match the options too. Lets say a shallow sand bed in your display and a deep sand bed in your fuge. Just one rule of thumb. No sand beds that are between 1" and 3". Always go lower or higher then that range. Also, in any sand bed, you will need to add about 1/2" of sand every 6 to 9 months. This is important if you are planning a deep sand bed because if you choose to go only 3", you are going to have to replace sand more often to stay away from being under 3".

 

[ryanh487]

do either less than 1.5" or more than 4". anything in between is a pain and nothing more than a nitrate trap. unless you know what you are doing and have the time and desire to properly maintain a DSB, i would recommend the <1.5" route. personally, i keep 1" in my larger tanks and about 1/2-3/4" in my 4 gallon. easy for any CUC to turn over and easy to gravel vacuum without worry of releasing pockets of harmful hydrogen sulfide or nitrogen gas.