Sooo... could you put a deep sand bed in your sump?

[Carefree_Dude]

I've read how deep sand bed can do nitrate removal. I've also read that toxic gasses could build up in a deep sand bed, which can kill your fish, and if a fish were to disturb it, it could kill things.

So... could I effectively build a deep sand bed in my sump? My sump is 55 gallons, so there is plenty of room for a deep sand bed.

 

[rpow]

i saw a vid on newyorksteelo's youtube, he had a refugium in his sump with maybe 7inches of sandbed with a few coral and and a cloownfish. ask him on his youtube channel, he'll know.

 

[LD50]

I use DSB's in my tanks (SW&FW) and never had a toxic gas problem. With the DSB in your sump as a safety precaution you should be more than ok. Also be patient it may take a couple months before you see any effect.

 

[Owain4]

the guys at my local aquarium club all love having DSB. I dont use it in my main tank though because it doesnt look nice, but it would work great in your sump!

 

[calioutlaw1a]

If you are going to convert your sump into a deep sand bed, you need to reduce the flow through the sump, and still have some form of filtration. So as long as you have a canister, HOB, or some other filter in addition to the sand bed then that should work.

 

[Carefree_Dude]

currently I have water draining into a filter sock, then going through about 10 pounds of seachem matrix, then returning into the tank. my flow rate is around 1000 GPH

 

[chunkypeanutlove]

DSB are amazing, i use them in tank more than sump