is dsb and lr enough..

[ReDDeviLs]

hi guys,

will a dsb with 4-6inch and some liverock as filter enough for a 2x1.5x1.5ft fowlr tank?

with skimmer too.

[FuEl]

I don't see any reason why it would not work for a FOWLR tank...actually it can even work for a reef tank. Considering you know how to stock at the appropriate levels.

[Siput]

Anyone know how long before the dsb and LR "mature" enuff to convert the nitrates? Been cycling for about 3 weeks now and nitrates still high...so have to do water change...*sigh*....

[ReDDeviLs]

i think it will take 6mths or more to be matured..

bro fuel:

i will be using the tank as a quarentine tank,so i guess it will have very little and most of the time no fishes at all

btw how much lr and how deep my sand bed have to for my Quarentine tank?

can we calculate how much lr have to be added?

[ben]

To have a fully matured tank, u have to run it with full capacity of LS for at least more than 1 year. Most experienced aquarist will have full matured tank after running with LS for 1.5 years. These are provided that your filtrations, LR and LS are enough for the bacterias to live and grow. If these LR and LS are not enough, u will never get a matured tank. Within less than 1 year, u will still see nitrates going up.

Pls read up the tips in the learning forum in src sites. Asking more and more here only will slow u down for knowledges. Why dont u guys straightaway find these answers in the websites before asking. thats faster

[ReDDeviLs]

ben:

are u refering to me?

but mine is a quarentine tank will hardly have fish i think..

[Kalib]

I think what reddevils is talking about is the DSB maturing, allowing it to breakdown nitrates as well not talking about the tank maturing.

Anyway, i don't see why such a setup won't work so long as you keep the bioload low.

[CooL_anakin]

i think it will take 6mths or more to be matured..

bro fuel:

i will be using the tank as a quarentine tank,so i guess it will have very little and most of the time no fishes at all

btw how much lr and how deep my sand bed have to for my Quarentine tank?

can we calculate how much lr have to be added?

A DSB should be at least 4" to prevent it from being aerobic and becoming a nitrate factory instead.

Normally, people take 1-1.5pounds of liverock per gallon as a rough guide line.

[CooL_anakin]

Anyone know how long before the dsb and LR "mature" enuff to convert the nitrates? Been cycling for about 3 weeks now and nitrates still high...so have to do water change...*sigh*....

You have to be aware that DSB collect detritus easily and can very much become more of harm to your tank if these detritus[They break down into nitrates eventually] are not cleared of.

A DSB should have detrivores and scavengers to help to get rid of excess food n of course detritus.

I think in your case there might not be enough detrivores in your sand bed and detritus are decomposing into nitrates.

Good detrivores and scavengers would be sea cucumbers, nassarius snails and worms. These organisms provide the nessecary sifting of sand as well to regulate water moments and promote bacteria growth.

[Siput]

Thanks, will be picking up a "cleaning crew" sometime this weekend. Need to do a water change first as unsure if high nitrates (currently) are bad for the sea cukes, etc...

[Siput]

My dsb for a 3 footer is about 3-4 inches (from area to area due to water flow) and consists of a 2" layer of grade 0 sand at the bottom and an even finer grade of crushed coral for the top layer, so unlikely that detritus will get caught inside of the dsb, but will remain on the surface...