Should i go with a thick or thin substrare?

[jessesoto33]

Should i go with a thick or thin substrare?

 

[Kbra]

how about normal?

 

[TheBluefish]

Good question. I was wonder the same thing with the new setup. what does everyone else think? I'm guessing it depends on what you are keeping in the tank?

 

[fran]

from what I read they say a good reef tank should be 5-6 inches of sand my last one was 5 inches I thought it was to much but everyone else said it looked good.My new one is about 3 inches thick and I think it looks better but it is al what you feel looks good.
Just my opinion

 

[jessesoto33]

how about normal?

what's normal?

 

[KrazyReef]

For me I either go thick or none.

 

[jessesoto33]

For me I either go thick or none.

why is that?

 

[jessesoto33]

any more suggestions?

 

[KrazyReef]

Thick substrate helps reduce nitrate. With no substrate I can put my power heads anywhere and create great current without worrying about blowing the substrate all over the tank.

why is that?

 

[MechaSamurai]

3 to 3 so far... middle of the road?

I have a slightly thicker than normal bed and I really like it. My Orange spotted Goby (see my avatar) loves to dig in it and make mountains and depressions, but he never exposes the bottom. I think it ads some realism to the tank and gives it a more natural appearance. If you want the clean manufactured look you could always go bare bottom with a good sump.

 

[jessesoto33]

does anybody know what a thin sand bed does good or bad?

 

[travisw30]

go with 2-3 inches if doing sand.

 

[MechaSamurai]

If you go too thin and you have a lot of movement you can get bald spots where all the band gets "blown" away, to me that always looks really bad.

 

[jessesoto33]

I really don't care if the bottom shows, I am more interested in whats more beneficial for a full blown reef set up!

 

[travisw30]

Sand is great but your live rock tends to be more important for the water and reef.

 

[jessesoto33]

Sand is great but your live rock tends to be more important for the water and reef.

That's what I thought.

 

[JOSE CASAS]

Thick is better as far as reducing nitrate. Thin is all for looks and will acumilate stuff with no real benefit beside growing pods. You really need a DSB 4''-6'' to fully work on reducing no3 hth. Did you decide how much sand you are putting in your tank yet?

 

[jessesoto33]

Thick is better as far as reducing nitrate. Thin is all for looks and will acumilate stuff with no real benefit beside growing pods. You really need a DSB 4''-6'' to fully work on reducing no3 hth. Did you decide how much sand you are putting in your tank yet?[/Q

I went thin, because I asked the whole world (figure of speech) about it, and did a lot of research, and I learned that a DSB is good for a year or two, but the majority (people who had tanks for 10+ years) of the tanks that had a DSB all crashed, because of the build up of gases, released in their tanks over time, and I am doing this for the long haul.

Yes it is good for nitrates, but there is other ways of reducing nitrates, like vodka dosing, and using Prodibio BioClean, This stuff digests the sludge, and organic waste, and other stuff which reduce nitrates, phosphates, carbohydrates, and other stuff. Of course this means a cleaner, healthier, more flourishing tank, with out crashes!

I know a lot of reefers don't agree with this, so I ask those who don't agree, to go look at LFS's that have been selling corals for over 10+ years, and see if they have a DSB!

 

[cthetoy]

I went thin - less than 1". I didnt like the look of bare bottom. My wrasses doesnt seem to care and my Diamond Goby is still able to scoop and pick up the sand. Thin is easier to clean and less deitruis can accumalate causing my Nitrates and Phosphates to rise.

If you dose Vodka like what Im doing the negative effect is less drastic on a thin bed vs a thick bed.

 

[bkoo29]

Thick substrate helps reduce nitrate. With no substrate I can put my power heads anywhere and create great current without worrying about blowing the substrate all over the tank.

+1 4 in substrate will help out on nitrate.