sand or no sand

flame_angel · December 12, 2004

hi all,

just wondering whether should have sand or no sand in main tank. i had ordered 3'x2'x2' tank w/sump. most topic i seen talk about how deep & type but is it better to be w/o sand?

cheers. :thanks:

kareen · December 12, 2004

It depends on what type of filteration system..... I have seen bare bottom tanks and plenty of live rocks.....

veliferium · December 13, 2004

yes,its better to have sand as the colonizing bacteria in the deep sand bed(if you have one) helps to convert no3 to nitrogen or ammonium(not quite sure).But its relly up to you whether you want a sandbed.

ervine · December 13, 2004

Sand looks nice what... but I've seen some people use broken pieces of live rock as a substrate but IMO that would be prone to detrius getting trapped in all the nooks and crannies...

tineng · December 13, 2004

also depends on what you want to keep....some fishes needs deep sandbed....

IMHO, to use DSB for filteration, you need to be very very very patient as it might take up to 6 months to mature....personally for me, i'' like to try some other methods like, Zoevit, more live rocks or De-nirtator....

Reefbum · December 14, 2004

Sand is used for aesthetic viewing pleasure, as a buffer and as a flilter bed.The cons of using sand as substrate is that detritus and algae will accumulate over a long period of time.Thats why some chose bare bottom but look for other means to buffer and filter the tank.