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Debate - Sandbed, or BB with Starboard

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Ahanix View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 20 2010 at 12:43pm
So I am messing around with a bunch of ideas for my 40g that I will be building, and I know everyone has an opinion about this, so

I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a 2" sandbed, 4" sandbed, or even just go bare bottom with black starboard to protect the glass / maybe try to grow a GSP lawn on the bottom


I know the biggest issue with doing a bare bottom tank is that you can get really bad buildup at the bottom. Aside from that, could there be any benefit of doing it this way?


Also, if I did go with a sandbed, is there any downside to using black sand?


Edited by Ahanix - May 20 2010 at 12:49pm
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jwoo View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jwoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2010 at 1:01pm
2" sand bed with a remote DSB in the refuge IMO.

I hate how bare bottom looks.

Black sand looks really cool at first, but it shows detritus build up really really well over longer periods of time. I'd stick with Fiji pink oolitic sand that's my favorite.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bugzme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2010 at 2:30pm
There are several threads about black sand on rc! check them out.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tileman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2010 at 4:00pm
It doesn't look natural B/B.  But many people do it for maintenance issues.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2010 at 8:46pm
See my other comments about the sand bed in your thread "How much sand?".

Where you put the sand bed is your choice, but there is no debate about the reason for a sand bed and the variety of things it does.
* Filtration of the entire aquarium because of the eating habits of worms, bugs and bacteria
* Feeding all the organisms in the tank from the spawning of worms, bugs and bacteria

Have you heard about feeding coral and inverts by stirring the sand?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EagleEyez5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2010 at 11:52pm
At this point, most people don't even notice that my tank doesn't have sand until I point it out. Once you go BB you will never go back. One major plus is you can move as much water as you want, in any direction you want, and never have to worry about a dust storm. (build up of detritus is a non issue as well. At one point I had 10,800 gallons an hour blowing through my 200 gallon cube (I have scaled that back to 7,200 gph now).

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