Which do you guys prefer when starting up a new tank? DSB? SSB? BB?

--Dan

You had to got there huh? Well at least your asking what "We" prefer and not which is best. I have seen some really heated discussions on other forums and many were quiet the "blood bath".

Im a fan of the SSB. I think the biogical filtration that it provides without the potential hang ups of DSB's has a lot to offer. It gives the tank a nice appeal from an asthetic stand point at well at least to my eye. A shallow sand bed offers one the chance to have critters in the tank that BB tanks cant really have as well.

Bare Bottoms just look to sterile to me but they do make maintenance a breeze. It kinda limits one on biological processes as well in my opinion.

DSB's what a topic. These are very good systems for some. I kinda like the concept but havbent researched them enough to make competent decisions about them yet. Kind of a case where the "Jury is still diliberating" on this one for me...If I knew a bit more about the finer point of DSB's prehaps I would use them more. I am currently using these only in my refugiums and have mangroves planted in them.

Just my opinion and thoughts on this subject....

definitly SSB as you don't have this six inch bed that looks really tacky but the DSB look really good in the massive tanks like 200 gallons and up.

to me the biggest drawback to a DSB is the look, sure you have the risk of gass bubbles but really in SW with all the inverts dwelling in the sand thats not a big problem, get yorself a good mix of snails, stars, shrimps and pods and your sand will nevver be stagnant enought to be a problem, but it provides a much more natural home for so many critters. Of course with a predatory tank I'd go with BB and a small tank ssb but dsb is what I dream of

Well with a Deep Sand Bed you will deffinitely want to stay away from Sand Sifting Stars. They will decimate the worm population which is needed to keep that sand bed healthy and functioning. I think too that many people that have problems with DSB's also have large bio-loads as far as fish.

I dont understand the whole "bubble" situation? Can some one explain?

PS, i dont keep SW so take this with a grain of salt, but i like DSB's caus ethe variety of life they contain.

Nothing wrong with having a DSB or liking them. They indeed do contain an increadible wealth of life and Micro-Fauna. Thats one of the things thats their strong point! Its also a big reason for what makes them work too.

The bubble thing...as good as my english is it might not be good enough to explain this complicated little issue but I will try anyways. The gas you mention is Hydrogen Sulfide. In a healthy sand bed 3 inches or more, and more so in finer grades of sand than say Crushed Coral which is large and course will form in the low oxygen areas of the sand bed. This should occur in the lower levels of the sand bed. While this gas is no kidding toxic, rarely will enough of this build in a reef tank to poison the tank. As this perculates to the top of the sand bed and eventually bubbles up to the surface, you will notice an extremely foul rotten egg type oder as he gas escapes. This gas develops as a result of organic matter in the tank that has settled in the sand bed. When there are not enough critters in your sand bed this will eventually work its way into the lower levels of the sand bed where some types of bacteria will break it down. During this process Hydrogen Sulfide will form to one degree or another. In small amounts it often poses no real issues. In excess it will create a foul oder in the tanks room. This results in a sand bed where there is a lack of suffcient Micro-Fauna more times than not and or the sand bed may have become too compacted. Both are a bad situation in a DSB.

This DSB issue is not one of my strongest points of Knowledge unfortunately. For that reason and a couple of others I do not use them in my tanks. I do however use them in my refugiums which are installed on many of my tanks.

I hope this cleared things up a tad, prehaps Saltfreak can jump in here and add a more comprehensive explaination that would better explain the DSB theory far better than I....

Thanks, it was just the gases bit i didnt really understand. But now i get it more clearly. When i finally do do a SW tank i will research all that stuf! :D

Cheers, benny :starwars:

Sorry I cant really give you a blow by blow on DSB's, but please do research them before you make the jump to saltwater as there are a number of things you will want to take into acount when setting up a tank of this style.

For one you will not want to have sand sifting stars. Sand sifting Gobies are another one that you will want to forgo in your tank as well. They eat all of your micro-fauna that you need to make these sand beds work. Instead you will want to concentrate on worms, snails and hermits. To ensure that you have plenty of the neccessary criters crittical to a healthy DSB you may want to periodically order a "Micro-Fauna Kit" from Indo Pacific Sea Farms if you are able to do that.

You may want to consider purchasing a tank that is kinda "tall" too. In something like a 40 gallon breeder for instance, once you have a 4-6 inch sand bed in it, you will find that the tank is so "shallow" that your are seriously limiting your self on corals and rock work. This is one reason you will often see them in refugiums as it allows one to reap some of the benefits of a DSB without causing these issues in the main display.

You may want to be a bit judicial in the feeding of your critters as well. Hobbyist are notorious for over feeding there live stock anyways. I mean how can you resist when they always act so hungry right?

These are three of the main reasons why I feel DSB often fail and are often times so cursed in the hobby. They are actually excellent and make for a great filtration method when properly set up and maintained. Onther than a refugium full of live rock, macro-algaes and Mangroves, its also one of the more natrual methods of filtration too.

I am a firm believer in Biology before Technology....

very true Rit.