Has your sand solidified?

[inwall75]

Originally Posted by bouraganes

Are you saying that my sand is positivley going to harden? I haven't been around as long as you guys but I've never expierienced this phenomanom- are my critters wandering through the sand bed sifting in vain? Enquiring minds want to know!

There are ssssoooooooo many variables that I cannot answer that for you. Eventually, a DSB will fill up (anaerobic zone gets bigger while the aerobic zone gets smaller). When that happens, you will get the hardening that Tangster is describing. However, it's been my experience that most people upgrade their tanks before this happens. If you are doing the right thing for your sandbed (see several posts up), you can have one last years.

Originally Posted by tangster

I never had a lot of clumping of the sand myself as I fed my animals very little weekly. But I found it limiting in the amount of bio load it could support..

This is very true and is responsible for short-lived DSB's.

Here's Dr. Ron's comments on how much bioload a DSB can handle.

There is no magic number per gallon, but the actual number of fish per unit volume is pretty low. Probably on the order of no more than 3 or 4 relatively small fish per hundred gallon volume. Similarly coral diversity and abundance is pretty low.

Most people I know that have a 100 gallon tank have waaaay more than 3 or 4 small fish and a couple of corals. Any more bioload than that and even the DSB's staunchiest proponent admits that it's too much.

Here's a thread you might like. BB vs. DSB

DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT A FAN OF A LOT OF DR. SHIMEK'S SLOPPY WORK AND OCCASIONALLY I WILL MAKE FUN OF HIM IN PUBLIC. HOWEVER, THESE ARE MY OPINIONS AND NOT THE OPINIONS OF 3REEF.

[coral reefer]

Nothing, zilch, nada, never had that problem as I try to stir up the dsb from time to time!!!

[Tangster]

LOL Like I told him long ago all septic tanks will fill up these are little boxes of water and not a ocean in its nature or mass and any fool to ever think so is just that! Oh we had our conversations LOL Last time I was called a idiot/fool and the village idiot and to damn old or stupid to listen and to learn from what he was "selling" and he had no time to waste on a old fool such as myself LOL He was somewhere on a key board.

If you look at the writings of the sandman ideas changes like the tides LOL at first it was touted as the be all end all no maintenance or water changes or this OR that the magic sand and bugs did all the work! LOL

Like I said I knew in the early 70's that DSB snake would bite. No matter how they where set up.. I had a job and my aquariums where and are my hobby to enjoy.. The DSB requires to mush tweaking and worrying with. I average about 11 to 12 yrs on my methods before I get a real early warning signal OTS ( Old Tank Syndrom) and until it does not work or gives me problems I see no reason to change them (:

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by coral reefer

Nothing, zilch, nada, never had that problem as I try to stir up the dsb from time to time!!!

If you stir a deep sand bed, you're defeating its purpose. The idea behind them is to prevent oxygenated water from seeping down into the anaerobic areas of the sandbed. Stirring your sand would expose these anaerobic bacteria to oxygen which would cause the bacteria to die.

[kb.bear]

I have never had my sand solidify but I think this a great thread maybe all of the info in it could be condensed and become an article what do you think?