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#41
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![]() If I were to reframe this "debate", I think most of us agree on this:
A DSB is indeed beneficial for the reef aquarium tank and has alot of perks. However, given the lack of resources in Calgary (Canada, even) to create such an environment, a barebottom tank seems like a much more sensible and practical choice. Me and Albert don't disagree with the idea of a sandbed in itself, but rather we take into context what we have and don't have and then state our positions from there on. |
#42
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![]() Regardless of who poops first and what eats the poop, the secondary poop eater will still poop something out in the end. We are hoping that the amount of nutrients in the secondary poop is substantially less than the first poop which in turn is substantially less that the raw food that was first consumed. The poop eating chain can continue as long as you have the right organisms that enjoys eating its neighbor's poop. And the key word is the "right" organisms. Does anybody know what are the right organisms to form this wonderful poop chain of poop eaters? I have my doubts that anybody does but even if you know what they are, are you able to acquire them in the correct proportion to faciliate chain poop eating?
As much as I enjoy DSB's au naturel look, its only logical to go BB UNLESS.... a) you are assured and guaranteed that you have seeded your DSB with the correct organisms AND b) you have given the organisms the time it needs to propagate within your new DSB to accomodate the bio-load of your tank or you increase your bioload very slowly in order to allow the organisms in the sand to increase accordingly Here is something that I had written previously in a post regarding the pros and cons of DSB and BB. Quote:
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____________ If people don't die, it wouldn't make living important. And why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up. |
#43
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![]() I regularly blast my tank with a turkey baster, and I would say I usually get more detritus off my live rock than from my sand bed. Detritus should be consumed by the sand bed inhabitants, there sure seems to be a lot of action there in my tank. A labyrinth of worm tunnels and other little unidentified (at least by me) creatures- definitely one of the more fascinating areas of of my tank.
It's amazing where a little question about nutrient reduction can take us ![]() |
#44
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![]() So Chin, in your house analogy your skimmer is what... an outhouse
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#45
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![]() So getting back to my problem. I have had my sandbed (~3in) for 2.5 years. Could it be at the end of its life cycle/usefullness?
I'll be honest, the esthetics of the bb tank frighten me. I believe (mostly my wife) I would rather continue with a sandbed. What is the best way to clean up my sandbed and get my tank back to a prosperous moneysink? |
#46
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![]() Quote:
I have what was a 2" sand bed( flow and goby have piled it in places and made BB in others)I do water changes each week,and I'll spread the sand out again before syphoning.This stirs the crap up into the warer column along with turkey basting the rocks.When I syphon I get alot of it out.If its realy bad I'll set up the aqua clear and let it run with a sponge for a couple hrs before taking the water out.
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No matter how hard you try, you can't baptise cats. |
#47
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![]() So, your nitrates and phosphates have been OK up untill the last couple of monthes? Have you always had enough flow to keep detritus from settling on your sandbed? Any missing livestock? (sorry I had to ask) One thing you could try is siphoning off the top 1/2" of your sand and replacing it with clean sand (maybe a bit more to increase the total depth) Seems hard to believe your sandbed would be at the end of it's life already.
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