Why have dsb gone out of favor?

[OodleyBoodely]

OK, I've been away from the boards for a while and it seems I need re-educating! Last I was here with any regularity, dsb were the hottest things going. Now it seems they have fallen into disfavor. Could someone please enlighten me as to why that is and what's the latest greatest in reefing?

[gregt]

It's not that they are out of favor, and there' no "latest thing" to replace them. It's just that their weaknesses have been pointed out (to some of us in a very direct manner).

To put it simply....remove the detritus as fast as possible rather than "storing" it in a DSB.

[OodleyBoodely]

Makes sense. In fact, I've noticed lately that the detritus buildup has gotten really bad in my 4+ yr. old tank and I've been contemplating doing a gradual change out by siphoning the top layers of sand and replacing with new. I've been getting real bad cyano mats on the sand and hair algae has been making a comeback, too, which I think is in part due to the detritus and also to using tap water.

If I were to remove the sandbed entirely, what would be the safest way to do so, and what if any additional filtration would be needed to compensate for the loss of the sandbed?

My tank is a standard 55 with an Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer, two MJ 1200 ph, 4" sand bed and aprox. 55-65lb. lr. It is heavily stocked with lps and soft coral, fish and critters.

[tdwyatt]

Good answer Greg!

[MiddletonMark]

To only add ... I think that heavy [aka wet] protein skimming and much greater flow have become more commonplace ... meaning that running either bare or shallow bottom work better than ever. Not to say you can't screw this up ... but that removal of detritus before it breaks down is getting easier to do.

Even with a DSB ... these methods tend to be more common [high flow, much skimming]. Removing detritus is best, any style of reef you run ... IMO.

But as Greg so well put it ... `there is no one best way' ... it's just that I think every method's problems have become evident recently, that the DSB has faults which have been discovered [no perfect method of running the DSB - without potential problems - has been figured out].

Ain't reefkeeping great? Zero `works for everyone' solutions

[Evey]

Forgive me... What is DSB?

[jwwill0]

Deep Sand Bed

[Evey]

THX

[reefcam]

Can't remember the magazine ( i think it was Marine 2004 ). There was an article on DSB and the goods and bads. And basically to summarize, the article was stating the first 2 - 3" of the sand is benficial (fill with live critters), and it's anything that is over 3" can be fill with detritus. This is mainly from a study that shows the codpods, amphiphods, and the beneficial bacteria are hanging around the first 2 - 3" of the sand. The rest is just a bed for detritus.

[OodleyBoodely]

So, what are some of the problems that are occuring in dsb? What effects of the detritus buildup are everyone experiencing?

Sorry, I don't mean to seem obtuse, just would like to see some examples so I can compare notes and make a more educated discision on which way to go with my tank.

[gregt]

If you have recuring bouts with any type of nuisance algae after the first year you can most likely trace it back to the DSB.

[CAT]

I originaly put a dsb in my tank to reduce nitrates - deeper bed provided a place for anaerobic bacteria to grow - problem was, I didn't realize that my 2' tank wouldn't have enough surface area to provide much filtration anyway. I still believe dsb can work but you have to have the right critters in the sand bed to keep it clean and they do require maintenance. I still prefer at least 2" of sand because A) I like the looks of it and, B) I like to have the critters that live in it.

[OodleyBoodely]

thanks everyone!

[reefer_wannabe]

I've got about 800 pounds of nice, fresh Southdown in the garage. Who wants it for a DSB?

[MiddletonMark]

I hear the neighbor kids are looking for a new sandbox