sand bed

adeliel · 05/22/2007, 11:39 AM

right now my SB is only about 1-2" deep. It is of medium grade aragonite sand. I was thinking of adding more sand so it can become a DSB. Can i somehow put a finer grade of aragonite sand ontop of the stuff I already have? If so what is the best method? Or can I only add the same medium grade aragonite stuff, or nothing at all???

Thanks.

hmello@bermexin · 05/22/2007, 11:45 AM

You can add any grain size aragonite you want to. Be aware that the larger grains will eventually work their way to the top. 1"-2" is a good sand bed. Are you looking to go to a DSB? If so why?

adeliel · 05/22/2007, 11:57 AM

Yeah sorta, but not that deep. like 3-4". It use to be deeper, but i removed a lot of the substrate, and now it seems that there is more algal blooms possibly because of an increase in nitrate?? not too sure. Water changes are the same as before.

bertoni · 05/22/2007, 06:55 PM

Four inches is probably a bare minimum for a functional DSB. You would need the finest grain of sand in the aragonite products, or perhaps 90-150 # silica sand. You could add sand a bit at a time, perhaps 1/2" every two weeks or so, to avoid burying any animals in your current sand. You'd then need to seed the sandbed.

The cost and effort are significant.

05/22/2007, 11:39 AM	#1
adeliel Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 190	sand bed right now my SB is only about 1-2" deep. It is of medium grade aragonite sand. I was thinking of adding more sand so it can become a DSB. Can i somehow put a finer grade of aragonite sand ontop of the stuff I already have? If so what is the best method? Or can I only add the same medium grade aragonite stuff, or nothing at all??? Thanks.

05/22/2007, 11:45 AM	#2
hmello@bermexin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,205	You can add any grain size aragonite you want to. Be aware that the larger grains will eventually work their way to the top. 1"-2" is a good sand bed. Are you looking to go to a DSB? If so why? __________________ Henry Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Current Tank Info: 29g BioCube, AI SOL 12" Super Blue

05/22/2007, 06:55 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Four inches is probably a bare minimum for a functional DSB. You would need the finest grain of sand in the aragonite products, or perhaps 90-150 # silica sand. You could add sand a bit at a time, perhaps 1/2" every two weeks or so, to avoid burying any animals in your current sand. You'd then need to seed the sandbed. The cost and effort are significant. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/22/2007, 11:57 AM	#3
adeliel Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 190	Yeah sorta, but not that deep. like 3-4". It use to be deeper, but i removed a lot of the substrate, and now it seems that there is more algal blooms possibly because of an increase in nitrate?? not too sure. Water changes are the same as before.