subsea Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 What is the problem with putting live rock and having a DSB? No problem. It cost a little more for live rock than substrate. Live rock would provide that much more biodiversity. I prefer reef rubble from different sources or you could exchange live sand with fellow reefers. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I have a skimmer running, no DSB until last night and I have a tunicate/sea squirt growing on the side of my clam and a feather duster, My point is skimmers do hardly nothing for cleaning the water so I addedd in a DSB last night to my fuge/sump. Gonna have to get some new chaeto to put in there as mine smelled like burnt skin from the electricity happenings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 What grain size media in your DSB? Grainsize determines which micro inverts live in sandbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I am using what i think is 1mm-2mm aragonite by caribsea the bag calls it sea floor special but doesn't say the size. It is smaller than crushed oyster shells but large than sugar sand. I have seen many inverts living in it along the edge of my DT sand/glass area Upon googling I found a link for the sand http://www.marinedepot.com/CaribSea_Dry_Aragonite_Special_Grade_Reef_Sand_Dry_Sand_for_Saltwater_Reef_Aquariums-CaribSea-CS0020-FISSDS-vi.html says it is 1.25-1.95 mm in Diameter, this should be good right? Where locally can I get a invert pack to start seeding the DSB in a week or so after food has a chance to start gathering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 We're going in circles here. Time to let others chime in. I'm done with the subject. Good luck with whatever method you chose Kim! Thanks for all the input from everyone. I just had a chance to catch up with this thread and it's given me a ton to think about. I've been spending a bunch of time over on RC reading about skimmerless systems and also the pros of skimmers. I don't know anything about anything, really. So many different systems can work. My feeling is that if I'm going to run carbon (which I always do), and possibly purigen or chemi-pure, than I'm already messing up the natural flow of things in my reef. So adding in a skimmer, which the best ones only pull 30% or so of stuff from the water, isn't going to make much more of a difference and they do oxygenate and can save you, just like carbon, if contaminants enter the water (I do have a toddler). I didn't ever mean for this to be about skimmer vs no skimmer, because I may very well use one, more of that I don't need to consider room for one in the sump. The discussion sure got me thinking though, so I appreciate it! Another thing I realized is I haven't thought of the sump at all as a place for nutrient removal. My main idea for the sump, besides not having equipment hanging on the tank, was for diversity. It excites me to think of creating another area for creatures to live that may not in the dt, like in a dsb or a cryptic zone. I think that the more diverse the life in the system, the more stable it'll be for me. And more interesting too. That's the microbiologist in me. I need to think about nutrient export and I need to look into the maintenance and risks of each of the options. And I need to start making some decisions of what I want to keep in the tank! That's a tough one because I want to keep it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 . . . because I want to keep it all I think that will take several oceans and maybe a sea or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 . . . because I want to keep it all I think that will take several oceans and maybe a sea or two. Well it sounds like I'm going to need a (much) bigger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I am using what i think is 1mm-2mm aragonite by caribsea the bag calls it sea floor special but doesn't say the size. It is smaller than crushed oyster shells but large than sugar sand. I have seen many inverts living in it along the edge of my DT sand/glass area Upon googling I found a link for the sand http://www.marinedep...-FISSDS-vi.html says it is 1.25-1.95 mm in Diameter, this should be good right? Where locally can I get a invert pack to start seeding the DSB in a week or so after food has a chance to start gathering? You are correct in establishing bacteria first. This would normally take two weeks at which time, adding of some dsb critters are important without having higher level predators. In the very near future, I will be getting 100 pounds of live sand collected offshore near Tampa Bay. At the same time, I will be getting 100 pounds of uncured live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater and cure it using natural sunlight in outside tanks. My 75G growout tank on the back porch has detrivore kits from IndoPacific SeaFarms and other places. I will start selling detrivore kits for biodiversity along with macro and pods. I am open to suggestions for what clientel desire. I am interested in developing price structure as well as desirable biodiversity packs. Join my thread "Product Developement" on the sponsor page. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 This has been a very interesting thread along with Gibs sand bed thread as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 . . . because I want to keep it all I think that will take several oceans and maybe a sea or two. Well it sounds like I'm going to need a (much) bigger tank. On the plus side you probaly won't need that seperate sump tank. and +1 to what Derrick said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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