Sand bed
 

There are sure to be a few views on this topic. What I would like is the opinion of others on how deep of a sand bed to use on my 90 gal tank and if I should use a plenum.

I'll bite.

First, read this:

http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...highlight=sand

Then read this:

http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...highlight=sand

Oh boy.

All I can say is from personal experience. I started out with a DSB and ended up sucking it all out and going BB. Not regretting it one bit :-)

Beyond that, I know nothing about plenums. Sorry!

In my new tank I went for 3/4" of sand just for looks. I plan to syphon it every water change just like a BB tank. After doing some reading it turns out DSBs cannot be properly maintained in Canada where the in-fauna is unobtainable.

I have 1/2 inch in my new 60 Gal just cycling and i think i will get rid of it because even with this small quantity, the sand bed consuming so much O2 that i almost need an Ozone reactor to get my ORP to proper levels.
So BB is my choice even thogh sand looks so good.

what about sandbeds in sumps? what are people's experiences with that? I've heard mixed reviews either yay or nay, but not much explanation why for either way.

I'm nay for sand. It's purely aesthetics. I didn't find it helped any in the sump either.

After trying sugar/vodka, I'll never need another de-nitrater!

I had a DSB in my refugium. When I took it off line nitrates went from 20ppm to 10ppm.

Thanks of the insight. I am leaning more to a BB tank now.

ive also sucked the sand out of 4 of my 5 tanks with no regrets