Plenum vs Deep Sand Bed in Reef tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
K

kissarmy39

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2009
34
0
0
South Orange, NJ
Hello all,

Few questions about saltwater reef tanks set up; I was just wondering if a Plenum or Deep Sand Bed is better to use and what type of sands work best for each? What is the upside/downside to using these vs a 2inch shallow sand bed?

Thanks,

KissArmy
 
I myself am curious to see the opinions here. I Intend to go with a plenum myself when I finally set up my reef. But I would like to know what the general opinion here is.
 
benray4fun;3933229; said:
Deep sand bed all the way, plenums are risky if they fail...

Just keep your sand bed stocked with critters and you'll love it.
Click to expand...


Would that be due to all of the "dead" water under the plenum? That does become pretty toxic if I remember my research correctly. Which makes me really wonder why the heck I would go with one.....maybe weight considerations. dunno.
 
BenRay,

How many critters and what kinds would you think would be appropriate for a standard 90g tank with a 5in DSB? And how big of a refugium would you use and what kind of / how many critters and plants would you use to stock it?
 
Mr_Altepeter;3933255; said:
Would that be due to all of the "dead" water under the plenum? That does become pretty toxic if I remember my research correctly. Which makes me really wonder why the heck I would go with one.....maybe weight considerations. dunno.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was thought to process nitrates and complete the nitrogen cycle, but the deep sand bed (dsb) does this as well and more effeciently. Though both can fail or crash the plenum has a much higher probability to do so and contaminate the tank.

Your dsb should be at least 2-4" deep of sugar sized aragonite based oolitic sand and filled with the essentials...

check out www.garf.org for clean up crews (snails, hermit crabs and live sand) and www.ipsf.com for amphipods, mini-starfish, worms, clams and other specialty items
 
Benray4fun is right about the critters and such. Garf.org has all kinds of good info and in the bulletproof reef area they have calculators for pretty much everything you would want to put into your reef to help keep it clean. The DIY rocks are actually pretty cool too. Everything I have been able to gleen from the net leads me to believe that the more species diversity that you have the better off your tank will be. For the reef cleaners I get the idea that you really need more than you would initially think.
 
IMHO all sand bed will eventually turn into a nutrient sink unless it's in the ocean where there are plenty of agitation and flow. I myself went bare bottom and never looked back. I know we all love the look of sand but there are drawbacks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom