beatle December 18, 2011 December 18, 2011 My thread on RC hasn't gotten any love. Maybe I'll get some here. What's the consensus on a DSB in a refugium these days? I have buckets of used 1-2mm sand (will wash before using) that I can use for a DSB in my 40g breeder refugium, but I'm not sure if it's necessary or even beneficial. Thoughts?
Big Country December 18, 2011 December 18, 2011 I've got about 1.5" of sand in my fuge, don't like to see all the junk on the bottom and gives my mangroves some sand to root in. Don't know if that's a good amount or too much or too little just what I've done.
zygote2k December 18, 2011 December 18, 2011 I have a DSB in a 8x12x6 sweater box in my sump. It's filled with nass snails and other critters. seems to work fine.
smallreef December 18, 2011 December 18, 2011 As far as I have heard a DSB only works when it is more than 6 inches deep.. ive never had one for that reason...
beatle December 18, 2011 Author December 18, 2011 Is there any consensus on the grain size needed? I'm thinking a DSB of sugar sand would be more effective for anerobic bacteria, but that's just a hunch. I have relatively low flow through my fuge though, so maybe it's not an issue?
SunWyrm December 18, 2011 December 18, 2011 As far as I have heard a DSB only works when it is more than 6 inches deep.. ive never had one for that reason... It depends on total water volume, for big tanks 6"+ is preferable, for smaller as little as 3" can work.
firecrackerbob December 19, 2011 December 19, 2011 I think there is still a lot of room for debate about the usefulness of DSBs... so, Ill play devils advocate here as a bare bottom enthusiast and say its not really that beneficial IMHO... the exception being as above with the mangroves. I have been tempted in the past to try a remote DSB with a 5gal bucket to see if there is any improvement to my tank, but haven't seen the need so far...
treesprite December 19, 2011 December 19, 2011 (edited) I had a DSB (about 8" deep) in a 29g refugium before. If I was going to do it again, it would be separate containers. The DSB has to be a good sized area, so I don't believe a "bucket DSB" is useful for anything but a nano. The depth is supposed to be effective between 3 - 6". A bed that is only 3" is harder to keep the anaerobic layer undisturbed. So sand any deeper than 6" is overkill that adds no extra benefit. A DSB does not start working immediately, it has to cycle and there has to be time for the bacteria to populate adequately. Edited December 19, 2011 by treesprite
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