Removed my dsb in fuge

K

kwl1763

Premium Member
[Ok I've been debating this for a while and finally did it. I rmoved the DSB in my fuge. I have not decided if I'm going to put like a 1" layer of sand or leave it BB.

The reasons I did it were.

1) It is very small (~8 gallons) so it wouldn't do much and even the most dedicated DSBers say that that size really won't do much!

2) It is over a year old and it started to look scary to me. (See pics below)

3) The main reason I have the fuge is for nutrient reduction and pods. I can achieve those with Cheto without the risk of the small DSB.

I will say that even though the sides of the DSB looked bad there was absolutly no bad smells or anything when I removed it so I think it was actually fine and I think it would have been Ok for much longer.

OK here is what I did. I had plenty of water made up and ready. I turned the return pump off which isolated the fuge. I took the Rock, Cheto, few snails and ministars etc, out and put them in the new water wating to be added. I drained the water into a bucket down to the sand level. Then I took the wet dry vacuum and sucked all the sand and the rest of the water out. I pumped the new water into the fuge about 2/3rds full. I added the rocks, cheato, critters back. Filled up the fuge until it ran over the teeth. Turned back on the return pump and that was it. It took less than 30 minutes.

Here are some pics.

Pic of the detritus that was bulding up on the sandbed
detritus.jpg
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Front view of the sandbed. Note the black areas that worried me!

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Here is the side view of the DSB.

rightSB.jpg
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Continued]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1105685900
 
[The cheato and other stuff in the fresh seawater.

inbucket.jpg
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Here it is emptied out.

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2/3rds full

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Added the stuff back and fired up the pump!

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As I said I'm not sure if I'm going to add a little sand or not. The whole process was quick and painless and I had no issues! It will be interesting to see if I loose any dentrifying capabilty. My nitrates have tested zero for many months now so if I start to read any I'll know that it did work to some extent. I expect that if it does it will be only temporary as the liverock and main tank substrate catch up.]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1105685952
 
[Keith how deep was the sandbed? What kind of sand was it? When you took it out was there any clumping together in big pieces?]
 
[Sandbed was between 5 and 6 inches.

It was Southdown with a couple cups ( very very thin layer)of larger grained on top that was from my display to seed originally.

There was no clumping that I could tell. The vacuum sucked it up pretty quick though and would have broken it up pretty quick.]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1105686936
 
[I know you were concerned but it sounds like it was doing great. Any bad odor coming out of the vacuum, if there was any sulfur gas you would have known? I look at mine in the refugium, its coming up on three years. It looks alot darker in spots than your did. But it is full of critters, tons of small orange bristle worms. There does not seem to be alot of waste on top of the sandbed. So I guess it is doing fine, I will leave it alone for awhile longer. Like you said it does not take long to take it out or replace it.]
 
[I agree totally with your assessment. A good reef tank is sterile. who knows what lurks in the depths of a DSP refugium.

Could be good or could be Deadly. Why risk it

I keep a 1 inch SB with a hunk of live rock and Cheto.

Nothing exciting except two hitchhiker urchins, a chocolate chip star and a blind Chromis]
 
[Rick I agree with the assessment that mine was fine once I took it out! I really didn't like all the detritus bulidup in mine which you say yours is clean. I did have tons of critters which I'm sure helps. It sounds like yours should be fine and I think you can let it be. Honestly if you have a good DSB that is decent size I'm a huge fan. If you read the "crash" threads including Steve's the consistant thing is disturbance. Something disturbed the bed, hands, rock slide, fish, vacuum, whatever. Even if your sandbed is funky it stays locked up in there unless you disturb it!

Nobody mistake, I'm still a DSB guy and turning more and more into a remote DSB guy. I just don't have the ideal setup for one.]
 
[
A good reef tank is sterile. said:
Sterile would mean a lack of bacteria, I'm sure no one wants that :p I know what you mean tho :D

I think a key part of a DSB is good flow, to keep things from settling into the sand bed (just like the main tank) and getting it out by some other means.

Since fuges typically have lower flow and lots of algaes to break it up, its probably better not to have a DSB in the fuge anyways? I had planned to do mine a DSB, but I am having 2nd thoughts, I will likley go with a SSB or a thin layer of crushed coral. Due to the location I may go BB, cause its going to be hard to get at :/

The black spots I have heard referene too before, I want to say thats where the denitrification is taking place, but I could be wrong.

Whats why I don't get the whole miracle mud thing, its nothing more then enriched soil / silt. Maybe its ?fluffieness? keeps it well oxygenated.

What are other people using in thier fuges?]
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