12"x12"x7" DSB... Remove for more live rock?
 

I have a 12x12 section of my sump that has 7" of sand in it, with about 5" of water onto. And been thinking lately of taking the sand out and just putting more live rock in there, this would also give me a space to grow out a few frags and get them out of my display tank.
Is having the DSB beneficial enough that I will notice a difference removing it from the system? Having just a bunch of LR in that section would mean I could vacuum the crap out now and then.

So what is my best use of this spot?

I would remove it and grow frags. If you are willing to replace it with LR you will notice little if any difference down the road. If we had access to high quality live sand in Canada I would suggest keeping it. Growing, trading, and selling frags is better then looking at a sand bed any day. :mrgreen:

From what I've read a DSB helps nitrates. Id like to hear more though as I'm about to install my sump.
You could use the last 5 inchs as a frag tray aswell. You can add LR in any compartment in the sump.

Cheato helps nitrates too right?
I'm not even sure I have enough sand to make it useful. Which is my main reason for changing.

Ditch it its a pain to remove later if you want, if you must have sand fill a tupper ware dish full so you can remove it or clean it:)


Macro does a better job.......I prefer all three for a full fuge. Macro,live rock,sand;)

My sump is drain|return|fuge
The return pump feeds the fuge, so all I need to do is close a valve and vacuum out the area.

I have a 1.5-2" sand bed in my 90g display.

From what I hear a DSB can be pound for pound just as effective as LR when it is operating. But this is also more from the USA, where high quality REAL live sand is available. What they sell that sits for months/years in your pet store will not cut it. That being said, I have always wondered how well DSB's get seeded from LR, corals, and frags from different parts of the world and other systems. How long does it take, how much flora/fauna transfer from LR into the sand, ect. At least compared to some good live sand right off the beach in Florida.

I just do not like DSB's in sumps. Especially when frags are involved. One powerhead misshap over the DSB can result in weeks of bastering your rocks to clean off the snow storm effect. Especially if you use the super fine sand that is best for DSB's.

I have about 4 inches of sand and filled the rest with rubble. Since I can't grow macro

How come you can't grow macro?

I remember reading that you should go 2" of sand or less or 6" or more??

So many different ways to do everything with little certainties. lol

I just put the sand I had left in the sump. Then all the rock and rubble I have aquired. I try to grow cheato and mangrove. The cheato doesn't do a thing and mangrove grows oh so slow

I run prodibio and phosgaurd just happens to be a ulns

Well I took all the sand out. Past the first 3" it looked clean, like it was new.
I added 7 gallons of water volume, and about 30 lbs of live rock. I think I will be better off now.

Just need to figure out a light to use for growing frags now. The frags will be shallow, so don't think I'll need much light.