Live sand in refugium

[Dolf]

Originally Posted by mark

Believe Calfo was preaching less than 1" or more than 4"

That sounds about right. Dr. Ron advocates over 4” for a deep sand bed. That is my preference. The live sand can contain bristle worms in addition to brittle stars etc… Toss in a couple of Nacessarius (Sp?) snails as long as you remember that they will need food as well. They will surface when you feed your tank and do a “clean up” of the refuge without harming or consuming thelife you are trying to culture. One of the major questions might be what are you keeping? For softies the bacteria and the critters can definitely help. I have no experience keeping SPS with a DSB and have never researched it. I do not know what the benefits or drawbacks might be if that is the route you are taking. I am going from memory, but I seem to recall the idea of anaerobic zones in a DSB being a benefit- though there are some who will tell you that it can lead to a collapse in the tank. I disagree and have a huge amount of sand “in waiting” for a dsb once the refugium arrives.

One last note- it appears that the sand particle size is the major concern when planning a dsb- and it is fairly small (you may have to look it up as I just do not recall anymore…)