upside down sand bed

[ffjpayne]

i was just wondering if know anything about the upside down sand bed use in the sump or refugium, have anyone used them before? i read a little article about the use of them in a mag. but it did say that much about it other than they said it worked better than a deep sand bed. thanks jason

[ghostbear29]

ok, jason its like this. A regular DSB has water that flows down and sits in a anerobic state on the bottom.(nitrification) But some of the problem that can occur is gas forming that can kill the corals and fish above. A upside down theory alleviates that in that you force water up from a plenum up into the surface of the sand bed where the benthic creatures are. They stir the bed and no gas forms. Healthy and total nitrification. Obviously you would have to use this on a sump or refuge of some kind. The author that you were refering to also says to use atleast 4 inches (i may be wrong on that figure) of sand bed and a tall plenum (open space for water to travel) You can use food coloring dye to see how the water travels thru the DSB by injecting it into the sand. I think. help out guys and gals if I messed up somewhere.

[ffjpayne]

ya looks like we read the same article but it said you cant force too much water or else it turns into a upside down undergravel filter, so what im wondering how much flow for the return should you run and is this setup beeter than the just a dsb,

[ghostbear29]

I think the good thing of this is that gravity does most of the work for you. If you stay with a sugar sized substrate (oolitic) maybe mixed with a little crushed coral you should work out ok. If you stayed with all crushed coral or gravel sized substrates, too much water flows down limiting the time the water has with the bacteria in the substrate. Meiofauna and simple lifeforms will flurish and grow extending your nitrification process. Are you gonna do it? I'd love to see it. lemme know if you want help. Also, you can bring the article with you to the meeting for a good discussion.

[ffjpayne]

ya i was planning on doing it i just got a 110 and am trying to find out all i can about it before i start, but i will most likely do it with a 20 long

[ghostbear29]

Sounds cool, just remember that the sand bed is usually about 5-6 inches minimum....Larger the better. More time nitrifying the water! Also you could get hector or zach to order you some sea grass to plant in the sand and it would effectively double the duty. No kidding. I think star and turtle are pretty good varieties...i will have to check on another site and book to see what it says.

[Tucson_Phish]

I like to remember how mother nature has been running her tank for a million years..

she has made creatures that live in the sand to help maintain it.. I have 4 snails that live in my sand bed and they keep it pretty well mixed up..

but hey that is just me! when I see something working I like to copy it..

Tom

[ghostbear29]

this would be a refuge of sorts tom, not display. It works to double the nitrification process of certain systems. All the big marine Bio tanks use this and algae scrubbers. If you think it doesn't work, check out the smithsonian sometime. also Honalulu (spelling?)