Please comment on my intended tank setup

[ashidiq]

i am starting my 3 feet tank and my main tank i decided to go with a thin layer of sand and lots of liverocks...and for my sump tank i have decided to have a deep sand b ed of 6". is this good enuf ?

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

i am starting my 3 feet tank and my main tank i decided to go with a thin layer of sand and lots of liverocks...and for my sump tank i have decided to have a deep sand b ed of 6". is this good enuf ?

how thin of a layer do you think you would want for your main tank... Your sump of 6 is deep enough Make sure your LR has some water movement in and around them.

[Achilles Tang]

Please use the topic subtitle to be more descriptive in your thread. PLEASE.

AT

[KingFish]

The title of your topic has been edited to be more descriptive, and perhaps attract members' attention.

Kindly refer to and comply with this.

[ben]

Please use the topic subtitle to be more descriptive in your thread. PLEASE.

AT

wow, AT is so nice. double pls there. nice person.

ashidiq, need to know more bout ur main tank and sump size.

[ashidiq]

sorri sorri .. anyway AT thanks... erm my tank is 3 by 1.5 by 2 feet. sump is 2 by 1.5 by 1.5 ... i decided to go for liverocks in main tank bacause for a DSB to be mature take a long time and i am afraid of some undesired outcome...can anyone give me a better advise ? ( will a plenum in main tank and some microaglae in sump ) thanks for all advised

[Clownfish]

since u hav 2 ft for ur main tank as height, might as well go for 4~5 inches DSB there as well

then for refugium, 5 inches may be enough... too thick may hav danger of hydrogen sulphide... since there shldnt be too much disturbances on the sandbed in ur refugium

[ashidiq]

oic... erm but still deciding between plenum and DSB and from what i have read up a plenum seems to be better then a DSB.but i tot a DSB has to be at least 6" in order to be effective ?

[riot]

Hi ashidiq,

I agree that maybe you should keep the DSB in the main tank to maximize the filtration properties. Stack your Live rocks with lots of room for water currents. Invest in a good skimmer / power ph to keep up the current and detritus suspended, and the skimmer to skim em out.

You can convert your sump to a fuge if you like.

[ashidiq]

hi... erm any comments for my new tank ? or u wan gal photo ?

[ashidiq]

oic thanks alot but how deep should the sand bed be ? i am afraid 6" willl take up too much space ... btw what grade of sand should i use ?

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

oic thanks alot but how deep should the sand bed be ? i am afraid 6" willl take up too much space ... btw what grade of sand should i use ?

grade 1 should be more then good... main tank 4 is ample enough

[Tanggy]

Think both DSB and Plenum has their problems and advantages. Plenum if properly setup can work well. but dont forget the layer of mesh in between the 2 llayers of sand as if the dead water space is disturbed, you may have very undisired effect on your LS.

As for your main tank, if you do not wish to go for a DSB, then go for a thin sand bed lor. not as effective but still works. just use very fine sand.

As for a DSB in you sump, dont think it'll be very effective as your sump only 2ft. minus the space taken by the partition for prefilter and return, will be left with 1ft at most. in order for it to work, you need like at least 2/3 the size of your tank.

[ashidiq]

oic .... so if i was to go with a 5" deep sand bed in my deep sand bed and microaglae in sump will it be good ?but saw a few threads which says that DSB will crash over a long period of time ? tanggy what was the biological system like for your previous 3 feet tank ?

[ashidiq]

i have decided with a DSB of 5" in my main and some microaglae in my sump ? btw the plenum board is under all the layers of sand or inbetween layers of sand... thru all the reading i find that a plenum works better... can any plenum experts help by telling more about plenum and how to set up... so for the contradiction having saying decided on DSB but askin advice for plenum

[Tanggy]

For my 3ft, was using a thin sand bed with #0 sand. around 2 inch deep. Didnt like the ideal of a 5-6 inch sand bed in main tank. Even now the sand is around 3.5-4 inch in my 5ft tank.