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#1
09-21-2006, 05:10 AM
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I have had my tank running for about four months now with a DSB. It works for me so far. I have a lot of things that stir up the sand Dragon Goby, snails, crabs, and starfish. I suggest if you do go DSB, you might want to consider a Dragon Goby. The only drawback is the sand that ends up on the coral, can be taken care of with a turkey baster.
2Cents  
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#2
09-21-2006, 05:30 AM
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I had a DSB for 2 years and never had any of the problems that many say you can have, no major algae problems, no HUGE nutrient trap. When I took it out the sand was almost all very clean.
That being said my 250 is BB and I will never go back! After a while the whole bottom is coverd with coraline, and since I used starboard (actually cuttingboard) the zoos have almost covered the whole bottom. Pros: -less expensive -more room for water -allows more flow which keeps detritus in suspension -no critters to buy again and again -things like OM 4-way don't get clogged -no sand storms cons: -some animals need sand -nassarius snails are cool IMO sand only looks good for a little while, and then it never looks great. Nobody that has come over to my house has mentioned the lack of sand. My corals (mostly SPS) are all growing like mad. In fact my very first coral (probably first 10) were all SPS and I didn't find them hard or finicky at all.
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250 BB Starphire SPS, clams, & zoos 3 x 250 DE, IC 660 W/T5s OM 4-way, Hammerhead Pump Calcium, Kalk, RO filters, magnesium, Excellent prices
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#3
09-21-2006, 06:45 AM
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ssb
I had a ssb (0.5") in my display tank which was just thick enough to cover my eggcrate I had laid down to put the rocks on. Bad mistake because the flow in the tank created sand storms and exposed many parts of the eggcrate. Eventually the sand became ugly and I contemplated for a long time but finally decided to suck out the sand exposing all the eggcrate. But I now have a new tank currently being set up, I have decided to go BB. But instead of smooth glass, I glued a thin layer of sand to the glass with Envirotex Lite which is a two part epoxy that is considered reef-safe. It dries hard as a rock and is rather rough to touch. Here's a pic of the faux pas sandbed around the drop cloth.
(please don't mind the mess and no the sand is not purple striped)  My plan is to have some seio's or tunzes aimed at the ground in the center to push out the detritus to the sides where I will be able to siphon them off. With a real sandbed, that will not be possible. I'm all for BB for the same reasons as stated by Ben: - easier maintenance - higher flow - eventually you can get a zoo covered floor The ONLY advantage I can think of for sand is esthetics - it looks good. Its hit and miss to accomplish a good well-populated sandbed that is effective long-term.
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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.
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#4
09-21-2006, 07:18 AM
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ssb
Hey Chin; that's a pretty big tank.
I am also thinking about a BB tank after my struggle of keeping the DSB esthetically pleasing. I really like your idea of the sand bottom. If you don't mind me asking, where did you buy the expoxy "envirotex". Thanks! richard
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#6
09-21-2006, 02:16 PM
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My main reason for the sand would be for esthetics, I really like the look of sand. A zoo bottom sounds REALLY cool though. Probably would denitrify better than a sandbed at any depth as well. I had always thought BB meant either coraline bottom or another surface to scrape.
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