Substrate options

[midmichman80]

It is getting to the point for me to start thinking about substrate. I am thinking of using argonite sugar sized sand, if available, to create a deep sand bed in one tank, and go bare bottom in the other. Which tank would you make the DSB, the reef or FOWLR? Both tanks will be a standard 55g and connected to the same sump, a DIY 20l with three sections and bubble trap before the return section.

A list of possible fish: Reef: Blue Devil(2.5 in), Firefish(3 in), Frogfish(5in), Goby(4 in), Longnose Hawkfish(5 in), Jawfish(3.5 in, DSB), Wrasse(?), Bicolor blenny(4in), Anglerfish(10in),

FOWLR: Butterfly fish(6in), Marine Betta(7in), Wrasse(?), Lionfish(15 in)


The jawfish needs the DSB but could go in either tank, so which tank would you have BB and which would you have DSB?

 

[quaddity]

BB for the FOWLER (though I would do a shallow sand bed just for aesthetics personally) and DSB for the REEF. No reason to have a dsb on the FOWLER unless you are going to do gobys, jawfish, and/or pistol shrimp in the FOWLER.

 

[Chris_A]

Mine was none of the above.

I'd go BB on the reef, because you don't have to worry about nutrient cycling if you are removing it on a regular basis . And detritus is easier to see (and therefor remove) in a BB.

And I'd use a shallow sand bed for the FOWLR purely for aesthetics. Unless, as quaddity said, you want burrowing species.

Chris

 

[midmichman80]

I like the thinking behind the BB on the reef, better able to pick up/out detrius and probably better/more flow options without worrying about sand flying around. I did want to utilize the benefits of the DSB filtering ability and with my possible fish list was thinking about the jawfish and gobies both.

 

[midmichman80]

Anyone that suggests having both DSB have reasoning behind it or care to share. Thanks Chris for your input, I am pretty sure a BB on the reef would be easiest to keep clean. I am looking at pictures of BB tanks to see what they look like. Also, having a DSB in the reef tank would get the reef closer to the light source, but then I cover up more of my LR as well.

 

[Lorna]

I personally prefer the aesthetics of a dsb. I also firmly support the ability of a good working sand bed to contribute to the overall ecosystem that you are trying to replicate. A sandbed of course must be maintained and be populated with sand stirrers to ensure you don't develop any anaerobic areas that could potentially lead to the failure of the bed. This of course is just my opinion

 

[GlaringToast]

On a reef tank, I feel that a sand bed is a must, at the same time crabs and snails are a must in my book for a reef tank and those 2 go hand in hand. In my opinion in a reef tank your 2 best sources of filtration are Live Rock and Live Sand. A sand bed also looks MUCH better than a bare bottom tank with crap all over the bottom, which unless you're cleaning it literally every day there will be some. I can't honestly say that a sand bed is BETTER than BB because I have never had a BB tank, it just doesn't seem appealing to me at all. But everyone is different. Both ways can work effectively so whatever your cup of tea is, go for it.

 

[midmichman80]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I tell ya, I have learned a lot from this site. I am still debating on my final substrate. Thanks much and look for my other thread asking about my fish list.