How deep should a DSB be in a 10g??

[charliebetta]

Hi,

Just started setting up my tank. My friend recommended a 3 in DSB....So I put in about 2 inches of SD and a 20lb bag of LR...this made a 3 in. bed, but it takes up about a 1/3 of the tank?? This seems WAY too deep to me....in FW a substrate bed that deep would be bad news....I scooped out a bunch, and now the bed is about 2.5 inches....is this OK? I need room for the water and stuff!

Thanks!

[robertnb64]

read Dr Rons forum, I think you will decide to go with .5 to 1" of sand as a ten gallon is too small to achieve a dsb and over 1" and under 4' is bad news.

[charliebetta]

Are you serious???? Arrgh! I can't believe I have to scoop out even more sand! I am going to end up losing like all of the live sand I bought! $40 down the drain......grr.....

Oh well, I guess I should have asked here first....thanks

[Leviathan]

Originally posted by robertnb64
read Dr Rons forum, I think you will decide to go with .5 to 1" of sand as a ten gallon is too small to achieve a dsb and over 1" and under 4' is bad news.

A small tank of 10 gallons will not afford you the benifits of a DSB as it will in a larger tank. It is purely for visual pleasure alone, and you can make it as shallow as you like.

[Gina]

I would only go with about 10pounds of sand myself. I have a 10g nano and I put just enough to come above the bottom frame of the tank.




Gina

[charliebetta]

Thanks guys...wish I knew all this yesterday! lol. It's about an inch deep now....The water's been in there for about 24 hours, and it's still like milk....any idea when it will settle down?

[hwynboy]

my 10 gal tank took a couple hours to settle with the southdown massacre...HTH

[Leviathan]

Originally posted by charliebetta
Thanks guys...wish I knew all this yesterday! lol. It's about an inch deep now....The water's been in there for about 24 hours, and it's still like milk....any idea when it will settle down?


If you have some live rock, go ahead and put it in if you havent already. It will help to clear up the water a little quicker.

When I set up my 10 gallon a few weeks ago, it took a good 24-48 hours for it to be crystal clear.

[charliebetta]

I don't have the LR yet, though I expect it to arrive early this week...hopefully it will clear up soon....Southdown massacre! LOL, that is certainly an apt description!

Thanks guys

[Medaka]

Um, nobody said you had to scoop out the sand.

Just go with however much sand you want.

Oh yeah, and don't believe everything you read...there isn't any proof that DSB's don't work in smaller tanks.

[charliebetta]

Well, someone said that in a 10g tank, anything over an inch was "bad news" so I took that to mean I needed to scoop out the sand....If the sand takes up a third of the tank, and live rock is going to displace a lot of the water...that means there are not many gallons worth of water left, right? Which I would think makes the water quality hard to maintain....unless a DSB would have helped with that? Not sure, but what's done is done now...
oh well. Live and learn...

[Gina]

I would have scooped it out too.

Gina

[Leviathan]

You did right by scooping it out charliebetta

[robertnb64]

In Dr Rons forum and the new book by Anthony Calfo & Robert Fenner give the advise of less than 1" or over 4" to achieve a true dsb. While some have had success with depths between these "magic" numbers I will go with the advice from such noted authors myself. I too would have scooped out some sand, besides you will have more room in your tank now. Happy reefing:)

[charliebetta]

Thanks so much! Everyone here is so nice and helpful! :D

[rick23]

Hi everyone,
Sand bed less than 1" is new to me, maybe I haven't come and do some search for some time due to just move....

Can anyone explain why that is a "bad news" or link the page from Dr. Rons forum, please. Cos I setup a 9 gal about a year already, it has about 2" - 2.5" sand bed, everything is fine including some green stars and mushroom. But somethings some red slime come out. And I can see some tube worms under the sand and on the LR, and there is few bubbles in the sand too.. (Maybe I am just lucky)

I did a search on Dr Rons forum, but only found some info about the 4" DSB, if anyone know where is the link, please tell me..
Thank You.

Rick:D

[rick23]

Sorry again...

hi, robertnb64, do you know the name of the new book by Anthony Calfo & Robert Fenner. I would like to get some info from it.

Thank You.

Rick

[robertnb64]

Go here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html and click the
"Reef Invertebrates" link. A great book, and a great web site. Be sure to click on the daily faq page every day.

[rick23]

that is another great link
thanks very much !!:)

[rick23]

that is another great link
thanks very much !!:)

[rick23]

sorry... doubble it...:(