freshwater sand bed

[philhawk]

i am planning on making a diy aquarium near 900 gallons. (probably plywood).
but the real question is does anyone know if a deep sand bed in a freshwater tank would serve the same purpose as one in a salt tank?

 

[cassharper]

well, I think cyanobacterium will grow in the anoxic zones, but I don't know of any microfauna that will thrive in FW to stir the sand bed. I think your best bet is to make a small DSM (2-3") and use it for the plant roots to grow.

If you really want to do the DSB you might want to try several hundred snails to stir (maybe like MTS)

 

[philhawk]

i was thinking more for the idea of nitrate to nitrogen break down

 

[ShadowBass]

It doesn't work nearly as efficiently in FW, and there's a lot more room for problems that would outweight the benefits.

You'd be better off setting a drip system and/or denitrator than trying a deep sand bed.

 

[philhawk]

does any one know of any sources for stats on the de-nitrate equipment/ sand bed. i had thought of doing some fw rays so i may do sand anyway but it would be nice to know the numbers