Anaerobic live sand - Do's and don't?

M

masta

[So I'm currious about the anaerobic bacteria (species name anybody?) that is used in live sand beds. Not the Nitrosomonas (amonia to nitrite), or the Nitrobacter (Nitrite to Nitrate), but the one that eats the Nitrate. Anyways, A friend of mine used to work at one of the LFS's (so i listen to him) says that he likes a good 4 inches of live sand, where the bottom layer is anaerobic with the nitrate eating bacteria. This seems ideal for me, but then there are the people who come home and their tank is dead because the bottom layer somehow gets disrupted and poisons the tank. So he says it has become more vogue to use a more shallow layer of live sand to reduce the chance of tank poision issues.

I also understand that live rock has this bacteria too, and a good quantity of LR can act as my nitrate control?
Anybody care to comment?
Thanks =)]
 
[This is a highly debated subject and ultimately you will have to make your own choice.

After having bad experiences with a DSB(deep sand bed) I am certainly in favor of the SSB(shallow sand bed). I have about 1.5" of sand in my 135 reef and love it. It is clean, looks nice, cushions the rock, and there is no reason I should ever have a tank crash because of it.
With a good skimmer and loads of LR, I have extremely low nitrate if any.

Thats my .02
You will hear arguements on both sides of the fence and for bare bottoms as well. There is no right or wrong way, it is merely a matter of preference and weighing out the info as best you can.]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top