Upside down sand beds

BCOrchidGuy · #1 03-09-2005, 09:58 PM

Okay so I picked up the 2005 Annual Marine fish and Reef magazine and read about upside down sand beds. I've done 3 google searches and not found a single thing about them. Does anyone know where I can find more info? I'm seriously thinking I'll try it but I'd like to find more info if I can.

Doug

PS okay so water comes into the sump and goes directly to the bottom then flows through a plenum around some PVC pipes and then works it's way to the far end of the sump where another PVC pipe allows the water to come back to the surface of the sand. Supposedly the water that's flowing through the underside will slowly creep up and do the same thing a nitrate reactor will do but it should also help dissolve more of the sand bed media and eventually replace calcium reactors etc. So far they haven't gotten them to be that effective but that's the long term goal. I guess ARM in the sand bed would help.... So... anyone?

Invigor · #2 03-09-2005, 10:03 PM

aside from the topic, my gf's watch dogs are timex and bulova.

BCOrchidGuy · #3 03-09-2005, 10:14 PM

LOL I'm very proud of my son first in his school to have his work ready. The school is putting together a fund raiser, students are invited to write poetry, stories, plays and in my son's case.. jokes. The submissions will be published and the proud parents can buy their childrens work.

Doug

Rikko · #4 03-10-2005, 03:13 AM

That defeats the entire purpose of a DSB and plenum then? I'm still in that camp that wants sand beds to be anaerobic.. Maybe I'm old fashioned.

That does remind me of King Ed's anemone/cube tank in the salt room. If you look at the sand surface you can see a few 'geysers' where it looks like water is returning. I've never really looked to closely at their plumbing but it appeared that's how they run it. I should ask Robert about it tomorrow.

BCOrchidGuy · #5 03-10-2005, 01:17 PM

Rikko apparently it doesn't defeat the purpose it just alters the process and supposedly makes it more efficient. The Plenum isn't an anoxic region anymore it's more a region to let water slowly creep through coarse aragonite and then up through fine aragonite. Theoretically it triples the effectiveness of the sand bed. There should be a slight film on the bottom of the sump (on the glass) and that film works as a surface as well.
The design allows slight upward pressure and also increased water movement through the sand grains. You end up with two surfaces that are not illuminated so you get no algae growth plus the conventional top surface. Three surfaces, cool huh? You have the floor and the upside down sand bed and the typical DSB surface. The article recommends the use of photosynthetic organisms on the upper surface.

Doug

danny zubot · #6 03-10-2005, 02:38 PM

I can see how it would make the sand bed more effecient because rather than having 1 surface, you'll have two, with an anerobic core in the middle. (Maybe) It sounds just like another form of fluidized bed filter and it sounds like a lot of work to set one up but I'm interested because I'll be building a new sump soon.

Jaws · #7 03-10-2005, 03:15 PM

I posted about this before and others on the board didn't agree with it.

http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14651

I'm still not sure why though actually. I still like the idea if it will in fact work.